columbine
1a plant, Aquilegia caerula, of the buttercup family, having showy flowers with white petals and white to blue sepals that form long, backward spurs: the state flower of Colorado.
any of various other plants of the genus Aquilegia, characterized by divided leaves and showy flowers of various colors.
Origin of columbine
1Words Nearby columbine
Other definitions for columbine (2 of 3)
of a dove.
dovelike; dove-colored.
Origin of columbine
2Other definitions for Columbine (3 of 3)
a female character in commedia dell'arte and pantomime: sweetheart of Harlequin.
a female given name.
Origin of Columbine
3Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use columbine in a sentence
Officers at the school waited over an hour to enter the classrooms and confront the gunman—a decision that was “antithetical to everything we have learned over the last two decades since the columbine massacre” in 1999, McCraw said.
Schools Are Putting More Cops on Campus—Despite the 'Abject Failure' in Uvalde | Katie Reilly | June 23, 2022 | TimeThe majority of mass school shootings were carried out by a lone gunman, with just two – columbine and the 1988 shooting at Westside School in Jonesboro, Arkansas – carried out by two gunmen.
What we know about mass school shootings in the US – and the gunmen who carry them out | LGBTQ-Editor | May 25, 2022 | No Straight NewsIf those two boys who went on a shooting rampage at columbine had an adult who cared, they might not have “descended into hell.”
Colin Powell Was the Epitome of America’s Promise | Margaret Carlson | November 5, 2021 | The Daily BeastIn the eyes of the NRA, Rambo is as grave a threat to gun rights as The Fonz—or the director of Bowling for columbine.
Rambo Hates Guns: How Sylvester Stallone Became the Most Anti-Gun Celeb in Hollywood | Asawin Suebsaeng | August 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTGun massacres like Newtown and columbine can destroy communities, families, and schools.
But school-based arrests in Pennsylvania alone went up by 300 percent since columbine.
‘Kids for Cash’: Crooked Judge, Damaged Teens, and the Perils of Zero Tolerance | Ronald K. Fried | February 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“Before columbine, juvenile crime had been coming down,” May said.
‘Kids for Cash’: Crooked Judge, Damaged Teens, and the Perils of Zero Tolerance | Ronald K. Fried | February 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn a kind of manifesto, the Virginia Tech killer had written about the two columbine killers.
Harlequin had recruited a columbine and a shepherdess, and he introduced these ladies as partners for the promised minuet.
The Animal Story Book | VariousAs a favourite garden flower, the columbine found its way into heraldic blazonry.
The plant-lore and garden-craft of Shakespeare | Henry Nicholson EllacombeAs a garden plant the columbine still holds a favourite place.
The plant-lore and garden-craft of Shakespeare | Henry Nicholson EllacombeThe many species of owls, too, have p. 187not been noticed; and no mention made of the columbine tribe.
Wanderings in South America | Charles WatertonBut any though he is, he is as capable of devotion to his columbine as Punchinello, and remains faithfully mated year after year.
Bird Neighbors | Neltje Blanchan
British Dictionary definitions for columbine (1 of 3)
/ (ˈkɒləmˌbaɪn) /
any plant of the ranunculaceous genus Aquilegia, having purple, blue, yellow, or red flowers with five spurred petals: Also called: aquilegia
Origin of columbine
1British Dictionary definitions for columbine (2 of 3)
/ (ˈkɒləmˌbaɪn) /
of, relating to, or resembling a dove
Origin of columbine
2British Dictionary definitions for Columbine (3 of 3)
/ (ˈkɒləmˌbaɪn) /
(originally) the character of a servant girl in commedia dell'arte
(later) the sweetheart of Harlequin in English pantomime
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse