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• colon
  colon

  noun

  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.
• Colón
  Colón

  noun

  a seaport in Panama at the Atlantic end of the Panama Canal.
• colón
  colón

  noun

  the standard monetary unit of Costa Rica, divided into 100 céntimos

colon

¹ American  

[koh-luhn] / ˈkoʊ lən /

noun

colons, plural cola plural

1. 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.

2. 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.

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colon ² American  

[koh-luhn] / ˈkoʊ lən /

noun

colons, plural cola plural

1. Anatomy. the part of the large intestine extending from the cecum to the rectum.

2. Zoology. the portion of the digestive tract that is posterior to the stomach or gizzard and extends to the rectum.

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colon ³ American  

[koh-lohn, kaw-lawn] / koʊˈloʊn, kɔˈlɔn /

noun

colons, plural colones plural

1. the paper monetary unit of El Salvador, equal to 100 centavos. C.

2. a cupronickel or steel coin and monetary unit of Costa Rica, equal to 100 centimos.

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colon ⁴ American  

[koh-lon, kuh-lon] / ˈkoʊ lɒn, kəˈlɒn /

noun

1. a colonial farmer or plantation owner, especially in Algeria.

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Colón ⁵ American  

[koh-lon, kaw-lawn] / koʊˈlɒn, kɔˈlɔn /

noun

1. a seaport in Panama at the Atlantic end of the Panama Canal.

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colon ¹ British  

/ ˈkəʊlən /

noun

1. the punctuation mark :, usually preceding an explanation or an example of what has gone before, a list, or an extended quotation

2. 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

3. (in classical prosody) a part of a rhythmic period with two to six feet and one principal accent or ictus

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colon ² British  

/ ˈkəʊlən /

noun

1. the part of the large intestine between the caecum and the rectum

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colón ³ British  

/ kəʊˈləʊn, koˈlon /

noun

1. the standard monetary unit of Costa Rica, divided into 100 céntimos

2. the former standard monetary unit of El Salvador, divided into 100 centavos; replaced by the US dollar in 2001

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colon ⁴ British  

/ kəˈlɒn, kɔlɔ̃ /

noun

1. a colonial farmer or plantation owner, esp in a French colony

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Colón ⁵ British  

/ koˈlɔn, kɒˈlɒn /

noun

1. Former name: Aspinwall.  a port in Panama, at the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal. Chief Caribbean port. Pop: 157 000 (2005 est)

2. the official name of the Galápagos Islands

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colon Scientific  

/ kō′lən /

1. The longest part of the large intestine, extending from the cecum to the rectum. Water and electrolytes are absorbed, solidified, and prepared for elimination as feces in the colon. The colon also contains bacteria that help in the body's absorption of nutrients from digested material.

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colon ¹ Cultural  

1. The middle and longest part of the large intestine. (See digestive system.)

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colon ² Cultural  

1. A punctuation mark (:) used to introduce a description, an explanation, or a list. For example, “She would own only one kind of pet: a Siamese cat” and “The little boy announced that he wanted the following for his birthday: two sweaters, a new tent, and three toy cars.”

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cola
  plural
• colones
  plural
• colons
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

colon Colón cola colones colons

A review of case reports from nine people who self-administered coffee enemas also concluded that there’s insufficient evidence to prove that the practice is helpful, and that it could be harmful, to the colon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

King died on Wednesday after "a courageous and characteristically determined battle with colon cancer", the Mobo Organisation said in a statement.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026

Even though colon cancer in the overall U.S. population has declined in recent decades, it is now the leading cause of cancer deaths in people under the age of 50.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026

Abivax said the drug was generally well tolerated, with no new safety signals observed, but reported three cases of prostate, breast, and colon cancers that investigators considered unrelated to the treatment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026

A faithful replica, except the paint was more simplified than his actual colon ing would have been.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull

“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

As part of her response, Colón made sure Tribune readers knew she was leading a delegation from SafeSport to cheer on U.S. athletes at the Olympics.

From Salon ● Feb. 22, 2026

The Oregon accompanied by the Brooklyn, sped on after the fleet-footed Colón.

From Young Peoples' History of the War with Spain by Holmes, Prescott

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 recently unveiled a prebiotic version of its classic Pepsi cola.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 8, 2025

Some have even said the water looks like "coca cola".

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2025

She looked for the snap-open top like the one on the cola can.

From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman

“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

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

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

Both are likely to bulldoze the box office this side of Christmas, both are new instalments of previous best picture nominees, and both have colons in their titles.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2025

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