From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcorruptioncor‧rup‧tion /kəˈrʌpʃən/ ●●○ noun 1 [uncountable]DISHONEST dishonest, illegal, or immoral behaviour, especially from someone with power officials charged with bribery and corruption The investigation uncovered widespread corruption within the police force.political/official corruption2 [countable usually singular] technicalCHANGE/BECOME DIFFERENT a changed form of something, for example a word The word ‘Thursday’ is a corruption of ‘Thor’s Day’.COLLOCATIONSADJECTIVES/NOUN + corruption rife (=very common)Corruption was rife in the south of the country.endemic (=always present)Firstly, we need to tackle the corruption that is endemic in the system.political/financial corruptionIt is a country with a long history of political corruption.widespread corruptionThe election campaign was marred by widespread corruption.alleged corruption (=that someone is accused of, but that is not proved)He is about to be investigated for alleged corruption.government/police corruptionThere has been plenty of evidence of police corruption.high-level corruption (=among people at a high level in society or government)He has promised to end high-level corruption.moral corruptionSome people see television as a cause of moral corruption in young people.verbsfight/tackle corruption (=try to stop it)He criticized the government for failing to fight corruption in high places.root out corruption (=find and stop it)a new campaign to root out corruptionstamp out corruption (=stop it completely)The party's chairman called for action to stamp out corruption.expose/uncover corruption (=show that it exists)The newspaper prided itself on exposing corruption in government.phrasesallegations/accusations/charges of corruptionHe has strongly denied allegations of corruption.bribery and corruptionthe major crimes of bribery and corruption
Examples from the Corpus
corruption• Corruption has become so widespread there that you almost can't imagine the system working without it.• The word Thursday is a corruption of Thor's Day.• Enter Sister Christine, a veteran campaigner against injustice and corruption.• The society had become so perverted by power and corruption that honest people were considered to be stupid.• The result: a perpetual cement famine, official rationing and enormous corruption.• The play is about the gradual corruption of a scientist.• The administration has frequently been accused of corruption and abuse of power.• The country's government has been accused of corruption and abuse of power.• The chief of police was forced to resign after allegations of corruption.• It was even suggested that a moderate degree of corruption was tolerable if the economy continued to grow.• We have a severe corruption problem in Douglas.political/official corruption• Hot or not: Good cast, good creative team; a suspense story about political corruption always seems to be topical.• This bitter complaint and reference to lavish party practices and official corruption was to grow louder over the year.• The latitude for administrative discretion in individual cases surely encouraged rather than checked official corruption.• Integrity provides protection against partiality or deceit or other forms of official corruption, for example.• The reasons they switched their allegiance included anxiety about globalisation, a rejection of political corruption and fear of immigration.• In 1965 Ferdinand Marcos became President and retained power thereafter through the increasing use of political corruption and coercion.• Already, voters seem to think political corruption is rampant.From Longman Business Dictionarycorruptioncor‧rup‧tion /kəˈrʌpʃən/ noun [uncountable]1LAW the crime of giving or receiving money, gifts, a better job etc in exchange for doing something dishonest or illegalHe denies twelve counts of corruption.The Chamber of Deputies voted to allow Venice magistrates to investigate corruption charges against him.2when someone who has power or authority uses it in a dishonest or illegal way to get money or an advantageAs well as causing a breakdown in the economic system, hyper-inflation led to a spread of corruption. 