Coral refers to (1) rocklike organic deposits occurring in warm-water seas and sometimes accumulating into large reefs, and (2) the marine animals whose secretions produce the reefs. Corral is (1) a noun referring to an enclosure for confining livestock, and (2) a verb with several meanings, including to hold in a corral and to take control of.
Examples
Coral reefs are on course to become the first ecosystem that human activity will eliminate entirely from the Earth. [Canberra Times]
A pack of wild coyotes entered a bison pen one night last month and corralled a young 400-pound buffalo into a swamp. [Boston Globe]
The Pacific nation of Tuvalu is made up of a string of coral atolls and has few natural resources. [CNN]
At Manhattan’s Union Square, police tried to corral the demonstrators using orange plastic netting. [Stuff.co.nz]
The three-metre or so deep water over coral is crystal clear and punctuated with coral heads where all the colourful sea creatures congregate. [Calgary Herald]
I stayed in what had been the hayloft above the original wrangler’s cottage by the corral. [Financial Times]