colonnade
Americannoun
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Architecture. a series of regularly spaced columns supporting an entablature and usually one side of a roof.
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a series of trees planted in a long row, as on each side of a driveway or road.
noun
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a set of evenly-spaced columns
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a row of regularly spaced trees
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of colonnade
1710–20; < French, equivalent to colonne column + -ade -ade 1, on the model of Italian colonnato
Explanation
A colonnade is a row of tall columns that support a building or a roof. You might see a colonnade at the front of a museum. Ancient Greek and Roman buildings were often designed with a colonnade supporting them, and classically designed buildings still sometimes include a colonnade. Washington D.C.'s Lincoln Memorial is fronted by a colonnade, and even ordinary libraries, post offices, and museums might have them. The word was first used in the 1700s, and it comes from the French colonnade, with its Latin root of columna, or "pillar."
Vocabulary lists containing colonnade
Ancient Greece - Middle School and High School
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The Waste Land
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The Odyssey
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
According to a recent interview with the New York Times, he intends to build a second story atop the West Wing colonnade.
From Salon • Jan. 13, 2026
"This scheme does require a two-storey colonnade connecting the East Room in the White House to the new ballroom," Baranes told the National Capital Planning Commission.
From Barron's • Jan. 8, 2026
He unveiled a "Presidential Walk of Fame" along the West Wing colonnade in September, displaying gold-framed portraits of himself and the 44 other presidents along the white exterior wall.
From BBC • Oct. 15, 2025
His project, which envisioned an abstract colonnade that would have reflected the classical language of the Parkway, was abandoned in 2005.
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 24, 2025
At the top of the nearest colonnade stood Jason, his sword gleaming gold in the sun.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
