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colon
colonnounthe 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.
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Colón
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colón
colónnounthe standard monetary unit of Costa Rica, divided into 100 céntimos
colon
1 Americannoun
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colons,
plural
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cola
plural
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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.
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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.
noun
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colons,
plural
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cola
plural
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Anatomy. the part of the large intestine extending from the cecum to the rectum.
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Zoology. the portion of the digestive tract that is posterior to the stomach or gizzard and extends to the rectum.
noun
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colons,
plural
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colones
plural
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the paper monetary unit of El Salvador, equal to 100 centavos. C.
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a cupronickel or steel coin and monetary unit of Costa Rica, equal to 100 centimos.
noun
noun
noun
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the standard monetary unit of Costa Rica, divided into 100 céntimos
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the former standard monetary unit of El Salvador, divided into 100 centavos; replaced by the US dollar in 2001
noun
noun
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the punctuation mark :, usually preceding an explanation or an example of what has gone before, a list, or an extended quotation
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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
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(in classical prosody) a part of a rhythmic period with two to six feet and one principal accent or ictus
noun
noun
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Former name: Aspinwall. a port in Panama, at the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal. Chief Caribbean port. Pop: 157 000 (2005 est)
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the official name of the Galápagos Islands
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of colon1
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin cōlon, from Greek kôlon “limb; part of a clause or period”
Origin of colon2
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin, from Greek kólon “large intestine”
Origin of colon3
First recorded in 1890–95; from Latin American Spanish, after (Cristobal) Colón “(Christopher) Columbus”
Origin of colon4
First recorded in 1600–10, in earlier sense “husbandman”; 1955–60 in present sense; from French, from Latin colōnus “colonist, farmer, tenant farmer”
Explanation
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.
Vocabulary lists containing colon
Punctuation Matters
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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.
See Examples For:
The microbiome-enhancer diet delivered more fiber and other fermentable material to the colon.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
The body can absorb some of these compounds through the colon and use them as another source of energy.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
Previous research has suggested that ketogenic diets may help protect against colon cancer.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
If the colon irrigation and hypoxia training don’t chill me out, I have a feeling the long nature walks and lake swimming might.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
But remember that a colon stops the flow of traffic.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
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Colón Miró emphasized that she and other attorneys who represent El Chapo played no part in sending the messages.
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
From there, the SafeSport agency’s since-departed CEO, Ju’Riese Colón, dispatched a letter to the editor of the Chicago Tribune.
From Salon ● Feb. 22, 2026
The letters "C C A" were interpreted as signifying "Cristobal Colón, Almirante"—"Christopher Columbus, Admiral."
From Santo Domingo A Country with a Future by Otto Schoenrich
Coca-Cola technicians secretly concocted a sweeter, smoother cola.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
When we meet in the pub - drinking diet cola - Barry, from Chester-le-Street, says he reached 25 stone last year at the age of 50.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 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
They may drink a lot of cola, but they don’t ever really think about colas.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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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
"That colons in the bin," she says theatrically.
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2024
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
You do this by adding two colons and a number.
From The Verge ● Sep. 2, 2022
They put colons and full stops at the ends of sentences.
From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author
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