the sign (:) used to mark a major division in a sentence, to indicate that what follows is an elaboration, summation, implication, etc., of what precedes; or to separate groups of numbers referring to different things, as hours from minutes in 5:30; or the members of a ratio or proportion, as in 1 : 2 = 3 : 6.
Classical Prosody. one of the members or sections of a rhythmical period, consisting of a sequence of from two to six feet united under a principal ictus or beat.
Anatomy. the part of the large intestine extending from the cecum to the rectum.
Zoology. the portion of the digestive tract that is posterior to the stomach or gizzard and extends to the rectum.
the paper monetary unit of El Salvador, equal to 100 centavos. C.
a cupronickel or steel coin and monetary unit of Costa Rica, equal to 100 centimos.
the standard monetary unit of Costa Rica, divided into 100 céntimos
the former standard monetary unit of El Salvador, divided into 100 centavos; replaced by the US dollar in 2001
the punctuation mark :, usually preceding an explanation or an example of what has gone before, a list, or an extended quotation
this mark used for certain other purposes, such as expressions of time, as in 2:45 p.m., or when a ratio is given in figures, as in 5:3
(in classical prosody) a part of a rhythmic period with two to six feet and one principal accent or ictus
Former name: Aspinwall. a port in Panama, at the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal. Chief Caribbean port. Pop: 157 000 (2005 est)
the official name of the Galápagos Islands
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin cōlon, from Greek kôlon “limb; part of a clause or period”
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin, from Greek kólon “large intestine”
First recorded in 1890–95; from Latin American Spanish, after (Cristobal) Colón “(Christopher) Columbus”
First recorded in 1600–10, in earlier sense “husbandman”; 1955–60 in present sense; from French, from Latin colōnus “colonist, farmer, tenant farmer”
In punctuation, a colon is the mark made by stacking two periods (:). The colon can be used to separate the hour and minutes in time (7:30 a.m.) or to introduce a list or a quotation. A colon is also a unit of money in both Costa Rica and El Salvador. It equals 100 centimos in the former and 100 centavos in the latter. When you travel to Costa Rica, you can trade dollars for colons. In medical terms, your colon is part of your digestive system, and its purpose is to extract water from solid waste. In humans, there are four parts of the colon: ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The study analyzes 2.7 million patients nationwide diagnosed with non-metastatic breast, colon, lung, pancreatic, gastric and esophageal cancers between January 2012 and December 2023.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
The former police officer was undergoing treatment for colon cancer.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
“He explained practical things like colon cancer and bowel movements,” Winfrey told Emmy Magazine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Boseman, who rocketed to fame in 2018's "Black Panther," died in 2020 at the age of 43 as a result of colon cancer.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Or should I put a colon, do you think, Ben?
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
“They’re not him,” Mariel Colón Miró, a member of El Chapo’s defense team, told The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
A Cuban tour guide at Havana’s historic Colón Cemetery, a popular visitor draw because of its elaborate monuments and mausoleums, said she lost her job this spring as tourism collapsed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
The newly studied fossil was uncovered during excavations led by Fundación Dinópolis at the "Están de Colón" site within the Villar del Arzobispo Formation, which dates back to the Late Jurassic period.
From Science Daily ● May 17, 2026
Colón did not explain how many investigations of abuse could have been funded by money spent on the airfare and accommodations for her entourage.
From Salon ● Feb. 22, 2026
Two unidentified men, Heildelk and Walter Scharpp, former Nazi Consul at Colón who had also just returned from Germany, stepped out, and stooping under the partly open door, entered the store.
From Secret Armies The New Technique of Nazi Warfare by John L. Spivak
It was a citrus-spiked cola in a jaunty blue can.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Research reviews show caffeine from coffee, cola, energy drinks, and chocolate can raise systolic blood pressure by 3-15 and diastolic blood pressure by 4-13 after consumption.
From Science Daily ● May 18, 2026
For instance, PepsiCo has its own namesake prebiotic cola with fiber, which it made available nationwide in February.
From MarketWatch ● May 10, 2026
"It was much easier to crash a wedding than I'd have thought – I was in and out like an assassin, even if I only got a bottle of cola for it all!"
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2025
Summing people up as a cola or a coffee wasn’t really fair.
From "The Lions of Little Rock" by Kristin Levine
In Costa Rica recently, where United States dollars and Costa Rica colones are widely accepted, Ms. Haskins of International Living got a bill in a restaurant that showed both currencies.
From New York Times ● Sep. 22, 2022
“Doing the conversion from colones, I saw that it should have been $23, but it was $29,” she said.
From New York Times ● Sep. 22, 2022
Countries like Ecuador and El Salvador have gone so far as to ditch their local currencies altogether, giving in to their citizens’ preference for stable U.S. dollars over volatile and rapidly inflating sucres and colones.
From Slate ● Dec. 23, 2019
They found the mice experience significantly less weight loss and reduced colitis symptoms, while their colons remained virtually normal in appearance and did not show any significant loss of intestinal stem cells.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 27, 2023
On both of their colonoscopies, their doctors snared away polyps, or abnormal growths of tissue inside of their colons with the potential to turn into cancer one day.
From Slate ● Oct. 24, 2022
Both women have had their colons removed and wear bags which collect waste from their digestive systems.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2022
The theme of this week’s trailers: titles with colons in them.
From The Verge ● Oct. 10, 2021
If you listened closely it was possible to hear the dashes and commas in his speech, even the colons and semicolons.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
