Columbia

American  

[kuh-luhm-bee-uh] / kəˈlʌm bi ə /

noun

1. a river in southwestern Canada and the northwestern United States, flowing south and west from southeastern British Columbia through Washington along the boundary between Washington and Oregon and into the Pacific. 1,214 miles (1,955 km) long.

2. Cape Columbia, a cape on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, in the Arctic Ocean: northernmost point of Canada.

3. a city in and the capital of South Carolina, in the central part.

4. a city in central Missouri.

5. a city in central Maryland.

6. a city in central Tennessee.

7. a city in southeastern Pennsylvania.

8. Literary. the United States of America.

9. one of an American breed of large sheep, developed by crossbreeding the Lincoln and Rambouillet, noted for its good market lambs and heavy fleece of medium length.

10. Aerospace. the first space shuttle to orbit and return to earth.

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Columbia ¹ British  

/ kəˈlʌmbɪə /

noun

1. a river in NW North America, rising in the Rocky Mountains and flowing through British Columbia, then west to the Pacific. Length: about 1930 km (1200 miles)

2. a city in central South Carolina, on the Congaree River: the state capital. Pop: 117 357 (2003 est)

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Columbia ² British  

/ kəˈlʌmbɪə /

noun

1. the first test vehicle of the NASA space shuttle fleet to prove the possibility of routine access to space for scientific and commercial ventures

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Columbia

As we age, we naturally lose muscle mass, starting in our 50s and 60s, notes Dr. Linda Fried, director of the Robert Butler Columbia Aging Center at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

She earned a degree in economics from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in business administration from Columbia Business School and helped build companies in energy and financial services.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Pacific Link would be capable of carrying approximately one million barrels per day of crude oil from Bruderheim, Alberta, to a deep-water port near Delta, British Columbia.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

It’s really about promoting or aggrandizing him as an individual,” Richard Briffault, professor of legislation at Columbia Law School, told me.

From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026

On the far side of the park were the Columbia University complex, Grant’s Tomb, and Riverside Church, all places I would come to know over the following years.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers