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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
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Derived Forms

  • columnar, adjective
  • ˈDZܳԱ, adjective
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Other Word Forms

  • DZuԱ [kol, -, uh, md], DZ·ܳ·Բ· [kol, -, uh, m-ney-tid], adjective
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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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of column1

C15: from Latin columna, from columen top, peak; related to Latin collis hill
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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.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The piece talked down to Roan and diminished her requests as childish and unthinking — ironic for something as petulant as the column reads.

From

Dear Liz: I read your column about the parent who unexpectedly had to take over for their incapacitated son.

From

Excitable columns are already being penned in anticipation, proclaiming that two-party politics is dead.

From

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

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columelliformcolumnar