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  

/ ˈkɒləmˌneɪtɪd, ˈkɒləm, kəˈlʌmnə /

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

In another column, we could argue the merits of moving the final round of the WBC — the semifinals and championship game — to July, when players “otherwise would be playing in major league games.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

Our vertebral column has evolved little from our four-legged, quadrupedal tree-dwelling ancestors, where it functioned primarily as a flexible beam for smooth movement from branch to branch, while also protecting the spinal cord.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026

“Once you use it, the entire steering column has to be replaced, and the insurance company will declare your car totaled,” Welling jokes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

It has now published it, with a column criticising the article.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

The column has grown bigger and louder; it drowns out Tao’s reply.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Unlike in most mythological tales, the white Corinthian columns have been swapped out for brutal stone architecture.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

New York City’s Department of Investigation launched an inquiry into a Midtown Manhattan high-rise where two supporting columns buckled this week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

The building hasn’t shown any movement since yesterday morning, when first responders found two buckled columns and several sagging floors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Two load-bearing columns of a 37-story tower currently under construction, located near Grand Central Terminal, warped and several floors sagged on Tuesday.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

Half heaven was pure and stainless: the clouds, now trooping before the wind, which had shifted to the west, were filing off eastward in long, silvered columns.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Related Words

• file
• list