column inch

American  

noun

Printing.

1. type one column wide and 1 inch (2.54 centimeters) deep.

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column inch British  

noun

1. a unit of measurement for advertising space, one inch deep and one column wide

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Etymology

Origin of column inch

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Whitaker, a British immigrant with an ailing husband, started writing for the paper in 1910 for the rate of 15 cents per column inch.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2023

His long career of unsurpassed professionalism has revealed, column inch by column inch, the character of a craftsman devoted to excellence.

From Washington Post • Jul. 1, 2021

And so they are like the last two soldiers at Masada, besieged but uncowed, fighting doom column inch by column inch.

From Newsweek • Apr. 12, 2015

Kirk Douglas plays a thoroughly unscrupulous reporter who keeps a man trapped in a cave to milk every column inch out of a terrific story.

From New York Times • Apr. 9, 2010

Twenty-five cents a column inch on this sheet.

From Smugglers' Reef by Blaine, John