What does corrugated mean?
Word: Corrugated
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Corrugated means shaped into a row of ridges and grooves, like the metal sheets on many shed roofs.
Synonyms: grooved, fluted
Word origin: From a Latin verb meaning to wrinkle; corrugated has been used in English since the 1600s.
How do you spell corrugated?
Syllables: cor - ru - gat - ed
Tricky part: The vowel in the second syllable is u, not a or i: because that sound is weak, students write corragated or corrigated.
Watch out for: corragated, corrigated, corrugeted
Memory tip: Run a finger over a ridged sheet and say 'up, up, up' at each bump: the u you hear is the u that comes early in the word.
Corrugated in a sentence
Example 1: The rain drummed loudly on the corrugated roof of the bus shelter.
Example 2: Workers fixed corrugated sheets along the edge of the metro site to keep dust off the road.
Example 3: Many roadside tea stalls on the highway have a corrugated iron roof for shade.
Fun Fact
Corrugated iron is usually credited to the English engineer Henry Robinson Palmer, who took out a patent for it in 1829.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Which word takes the same letter in both blanks?
a) pa_ _ry
b) bi_ _uit
c) sa_ _on
d) co_ _ugated
Show answer
d) co_ _ugated. Corrugated takes rr; biscuit, pastry and salmon need two different letters (sc, st and lm), so none of them has a matching pair.
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) corrugated
b) navigated
c) relegated
d) agravated
Show answer
d) agravated. Aggravated starts with two g's, which the misspelt option has lost.
Word Champ
Choose the correct option for the blank:
According to the dictionary, corrugated describes something shaped into a series of regular folds that look like ___.
a) waves
b) waives
c) wavs
d) wheels
Show answer
a) waves. Corrugated sheets rise and fall in a regular pattern, just as waves do on the sea.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with words of opposite meaning:
1. corrugated 2. sturdy 3. glossy a. dull b. smooth c. flimsy
a) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
b) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
c) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
d) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
Show answer
c) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a. Corrugated card is full of ridges, the reverse of a smooth sheet; a sturdy table is the reverse of a flimsy one, and glossy paper of dull, matt paper.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which thing usually has a corrugated layer inside it?
a) a cardboard packing box
b) a page of a notebook
c) a glass windowpane
d) a marble floor tile
Show answer
a) a cardboard packing box
2. Why do engineers bend thin metal sheets into a corrugated shape for roofs?
a) the ridges stop the sheet from ever rusting
b) the ridges make the sheet much stiffer
c) the ridges make the sheet easier to cut
d) the ridges make the sheet cheaper to paint
Show answer
b) the ridges make the sheet much stiffer
