columnist
Americannoun
-
columnists
plural
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.
See Examples For:
Advice columnist Steffi Cao counsels a letter writer who fears she has no game.
From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2026
But MarketWatch columnist Mark Hulbert sees something more troubling: that the Nasdaq’s recent performance is starting to bear an uncanny resemblance to the dot-com era.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
As this technology accelerates its own evolution, the risk is that we struggle to keep pace and keep it under control, writes columnist Ben Cohen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
Dr Haid Haid, a Syrian columnist and consulting fellow at the London-based think tank Chatham House, said a "significant portion of the population" was worse off than before Assad's fall.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Mrs. Phillips began her life as the columnist Abigail Van Buren in 1956.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
But was anyone watching beyond my fellow columnists Gustavo Arellano and Steve Lopez?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
And much like Parsons, Hopper, and the other established columnists of the fan magazine era, there’s a push towards utilizing these same studios to further one’s brand.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
Beverage industry columnists and analysts in recent months have questioned whether the collective Aperol appetite is waning in favor of the Hugo Spritz, an elderflower-based cocktail usually made with Bacardi’s St-Germain liqueur.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
MarketWatch columnists Edd and Cynthia Staton write often about living abroad.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Perhaps London would be overwhelmed by poisonous gas, or overrun by German parachutists aided on the ground by fifth columnists before Lola’s wedding could take place.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
