Cornering

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Acquiring enough of a product or asset to dominate its market and manipulate the price ; steering a vehicle sharply around a bend in the road
2. Obtaining a dominant share of a commodity or security to control its market value ; making a sudden, tight turn with a car or other vehicle
3. Securing control over a market item by buying most of it to influence trading ; navigating a vehicle through a sharp curve or angle

Etymology: The "corner" at the root of this word comes from a Latin word for horn, "cornu." A corner was originally the pointed tip of something, like an animal's horn, and the idea of a projecting angle carried over into the Old French "cornier," which English later borrowed as "corner." The financial sense is a figure of speech. To corner a market is to buy up so much of a commodity or stock that rivals have nowhere to go, like a fox driven into a corner of a field. The sellers are left to deal with you on your terms, and you can dictate the price. The driving sense is older in the sense of the physical act. Taking a bend in the road means turning through the angle, so the verb simply describes moving around that corner. Both senses share the same image of an angle that traps or turns, one applied to the road and the other to the market.

Synonyms: turning, navigating, curving, bending, manoeuvring