columnist
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of columnist
Explanation
A columnist writes regularly for a newspaper or magazine, usually expressing opinions or commentary. A columnist might write an article endorsing a candidate for president one week, and a story about a terrible local fire the next week. If you get a job as a newspaper columnist, you'll be expected to publish on a regular basis, maybe once or twice a week. An advice columnist answers letters that ask for help with personal problems and dilemmas, and a political columnist comments on various current events and political figures. The word columnist comes from a newspaper column, which got that name from the "vertical division of a page" meaning.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Our awards columnist surveys the most unexpected inclusions and omissions of the 2026 Emmy nominations.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2026
Our awards columnist surveys the most unexpected inclusions and omissions of the 2026 Emmy nominations.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2026
"What a difference a year makes," Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano tells me.
From BBC • Jul. 6, 2026
MarketWatch columnist Jurica Dujmovic pointed to early investment plays for another wave of tremendous AI-related spending.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 2, 2026
David Brooks, the conservative columnist at the New York Times, published a surprising sort of just-do-it plea titled “Run, Barack, Run.”
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
