columnist

American  

[kol-uhm-nist, -uh-mist] / ˈkɒl əm nɪst, -ə mɪst /

noun

1. the writer or editor of a newspaper or magazine column.

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columnist British  

/ -əmnɪst, ˈkɒləmɪst /

noun

1. a journalist who writes a regular feature in a newspaper

   a gossip columnist

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Etymology

Origin of columnist

An Americanism dating back to 1915–20; column + -ist

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

When the late and great Times sports columnist Mike Downey decided years ago to write about jockey Billy Shoemaker, he did so perfectly.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2026

Opinions about what Iran’s new leaders want are all over the map, but in the words of Foreign Policy columnist Michael Hirsh, they now seem to be “calling the shots.”

From Salon • Apr. 26, 2026

Mrs. Gurdon is a Free Expression columnist at WSJ Opinion and the author of “The Enchanted Hour.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Lorna Skinner, for Pearson, said they would have seen the post online prior to their visit and concluded there were grounds to suspect the columnist had committed a crime.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

Mrs. Phillips began her life as the columnist Abigail Van Buren in 1956.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• correspondent
• reporter
• writer