column

American  

[kol-uhm] / ˈkɒl əm /

noun

• columns
  plural

1. Architecture.

   1. a rigid, relatively slender, upright support, composed of relatively few pieces.

   2. a decorative pillar, most often composed of stone and typically having a cylindrical or polygonal shaft with a capital and usually a base.

2. any columnlike object, mass, or formation.

   a column of smoke.

3. a vertical row or list.

   Add this column of figures.

4. a vertical arrangement on a page of horizontal lines of type, usually typographically justified.

   There are three columns on this page.

5. a regular feature or series of articles in a newspaper, magazine, or the like, usually having a readily identifiable heading and the byline of the writer or editor, that reports or comments upon a particular field of interest, as politics, theater, or etiquette, or which may contain letters from readers, answers to readers' queries, etc.

6. a long, narrow formation of troops in which there are more members in line in the direction of movement than at right angles to the direction (distinguished from line).

7. a formation of ships in single file.

8. Botany. a columnlike structure in an orchid flower, composed of the united stamens and style.

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column British  

/ ˈkɒləm /

noun

1. an upright post or pillar usually having a cylindrical shaft, a base, and a capital

2. 1. a form or structure in the shape of a column

      a column of air

   2. a monument

3. a row, line, or file, as of people in a queue

4. military a narrow formation in which individuals or units follow one behind the other

5. journalism

   1. any of two or more vertical sections of type on a printed page, esp on a newspaper page

   2. a regular article or feature in a paper

      the fashion column

6. a vertical array of numbers or mathematical terms

7. botany a long structure in a flower, such as that of an orchid, consisting of the united stamens and style

8. anatomy zoology any elongated structure, such as a tract of grey matter in the spinal cord or the stalk of a crinoid

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Synonym Usage

Column, pillar refer to upright supports in architectural structures. Pillar is the general word: the pillars supporting the roof. A column is a particular kind of pillar, especially one with an identifiable shaft, base, and capital: columns of the Corinthian order.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• columnar
  adjective
• columnated
  adjective
• columned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• columns
  plural

Etymology

Origin of column

1400–50; late Middle English columne < Latin columna, equivalent to colum ( e ) n peak + -a feminine ending; akin to excel; replacing late Middle English colompne < Anglo-French < Latin, as above

Explanation

Someone who writes a column for a newspaper provides an article that expresses his or her viewpoint on a regular basis, such as a column about local politics which appears in the Sunday edition. If your boss says, “I’m going to give you a column!” you may be getting a regular writing gig, or you may be getting a large pillar typically used to support a building. (You’ll know which it is when you see it.)Column also refers to something that resembles a pillar or stack, such as a column of smoke, or columns of numbers that must be added. Column also describes lines of text that form long rectangles on a page, separated by a thin line of space.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

column columns

Some of you may know there are two topics I often revisit in my column.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

A column of smoke rises to the east, over the center of Kyiv, where the sky is beginning to brighten.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

Contemplate life’s mysteries: The Explainer was a longtime Slate column that answered readers’ burning questions about the world.

From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2026

But I want to say this plainly: Do not stop psychiatric medication on your own because of a podcast or a column.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

The landslide had come crashing away from the mountain, the lateral blast had exploded out the side, and a dark column was spewing tens of thousands of feet into the air.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone

She wrote a number of regular columns for newspapers and magazines and also involved herself with more than 50 charities.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

A flower arch, Roman columns and chandeliers decorate an underground photo studio.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

Columna, a series of 100-word columns that will publish on the paper’s website and in print.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Large columns of smoke were still visible around the site of the fire at midday on Thursday, an AFP correspondent saw.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Book recommendations are listed in columns down the sides of each page.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

Related Words

• file
• list