Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for

column

[ kol-uhm ]

noun

  1. Architecture.
    1. a rigid, relatively slender, upright support, composed of relatively few pieces.
    2. a decorative pillar, most often composed of stone and typically having a cylindrical or polygonal shaft with a capital and usually a base.
  2. any columnlike object, mass, or formation:

    a column of smoke.

  3. a vertical row or list:

    Add this column of figures.

  4. a vertical arrangement on a page of horizontal lines of type, usually typographically justified:

    There are three columns on this page.

  5. a regular feature or series of articles in a newspaper, magazine, or the like, usually having a readily identifiable heading and the byline of the writer or editor, that reports or comments upon a particular field of interest, as politics, theater, or etiquette, or which may contain letters from readers, answers to readers' queries, etc.
  6. a long, narrow formation of troops in which there are more members in line in the direction of movement than at right angles to the direction ( line 1def 35 ).
  7. a formation of ships in single file.
  8. Botany. a columnlike structure in an orchid flower, composed of the united stamens and style.


column

/ ˈkɒləmˌneɪtɪd; ˈkɒləm; kəˈlʌmnə /

noun

  1. an upright post or pillar usually having a cylindrical shaft, a base, and a capital
    1. a form or structure in the shape of a column

      a column of air

    2. a monument
  2. a row, line, or file, as of people in a queue
  3. military a narrow formation in which individuals or units follow one behind the other
  4. journalism
    1. any of two or more vertical sections of type on a printed page, esp on a newspaper page
    2. a regular article or feature in a paper

      the fashion column

  5. a vertical array of numbers or mathematical terms
  6. botany a long structure in a flower, such as that of an orchid, consisting of the united stamens and style
  7. anatomy zoology any elongated structure, such as a tract of grey matter in the spinal cord or the stalk of a crinoid
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Derived Forms

  • columnar, adjective
  • ˈDZܳԱ, adjective
Discover More

Other Word Forms

  • DZuԱ [kol, -, uh, md], DZ·ܳ·Բ· [kol, -, uh, m-ney-tid], adjective
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of column1

1400–50; late Middle English columne < Latin columna, equivalent to colum ( e ) n peak + -a feminine ending; akin to excel; replacing late Middle English colompne < Anglo-French < Latin, as above
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of column1

C15: from Latin columna, from columen top, peak; related to Latin collis hill
Discover More

Synonym Study

Column, pillar refer to upright supports in architectural structures. Pillar is the general word: the pillars supporting the roof. A column is a particular kind of pillar, especially one with an identifiable shaft, base, and capital: columns of the Corinthian order.
Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

News columns and broadcasts this month were filled with nerve-racking warnings about threats to your health and safety.

From

Moumen seems undaunted, writing a furious column for the Washington Post at the end of March.

From

Undoubtedly there will be dialogue about how this column represents just another old man yelling at kids to get off his lawn.

From

Kudos to Dylan Hernández for his column “Dodgers are no longer agents of change,” noting the absurdity of a Dodger team going to the White House to meet Donald Trump.

From

In a 2019 column, the American Lawyer called Munger, Tolles “a top contender in the cool, woke category” — which is about as far removed from the Trump World groove as it gets.

From

Advertisement

Related Words

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


columelliformcolumnar