pillar

American  

[pil-er] / ˈpɪl ər /

noun

• pillars
  plural

1. an upright shaft or structure, of stone, brick, or other material, relatively slender in proportion to its height, and of any shape in section, used as a building support, or standing alone, as for a monument.

   Gothic pillars; a pillar to commemorate Columbus.

   Synonyms:

   pier, pilaster

2. a natural formation resembling such a construction.

   a pillar of rock; a pillar of smoke.

3. any upright, supporting part; post.

   the pillar of a table.

4. a person who is a chief supporter of a society, state, institution, etc..

   a pillar of the community.

5. a basis or support.

   The government regards agriculture and trade as fundamental pillars for the future economy.

6. a core tenet, belief, or religious act, especially in Islam.

   As the fifth pillar of Islam, every Muslim is obligated to make pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime as long as it is possible.

   The Ten Commandments are considered to be pillars of both Judaism and Christianity.

7. Horology. any of several short parts for spacing and keeping in the proper relative positions two plates holding the bearings of a watch or clock movement.

8. Mining. an isolated mass of rock or ore in a mine, usually serving as a roof support in early operations and later removed, wholly or in part.

9. Nautical. mast.

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verb (used with object)

1. to provide or support with pillars.

idioms

1. from pillar to post,

   1. aimlessly from place to place.

   2. uneasily from one bad situation or predicament to another.

pillar British  

/ ˈpɪlə /

noun

1. an upright structure of stone, brick, metal, etc, that supports a superstructure or is used for ornamentation

2. something resembling this in shape or function

   a pillar of stones

   a pillar of smoke

3. a tall, slender, usually sheer rock column, forming a separate top

4. a prominent supporter

   a pillar of the Church

5. from one place to another

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verb

1. (tr) to support with or as if with pillars

Synonym Usage

See column.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pillared
  adjective
• pillarlike
  adjective
• unpillared
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pillars
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pillar

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English piler(e), pileir, pillar(e) from Old French piler, pileir, piller, and Medieval Latin pīlāre, pīlārium, pīlārius, from Latin pīla pile ¹; see also -ar ¹ ( def. )

Explanation

If someone describes you as a pillar of strength, he's saying you're reliable and supportive, much like a pillar or column of a building that helps hold the structure up. The spelling of the word pillar looks like it has two pillars right at its center, holding the word up. Pillar is interchangeable with the word column, though you can't always use them in the same contexts. While a column and a pillar are both physical cylindrical structures, a column can also be the row running up and down on a chart, while a pillar is often someone or thing that is considered a foundation or support. Someone indispensable to your company might be considered a pillar to the organization.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pillar pillars

The center is also a founding pillar of the new Vanderbilt Institute for Therapeutic Advances, a next-generation drug discovery institute that is also led by Lindsley.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026

Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi amped up the unease by making ominous noises about how long cash flow—long a pillar of strength for what had been asset-light, high-margin internet giants—would remain under pressure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Chey Tae-won, 65, is the chairman of the SK Group, which owns world-leading memory chipmaker SK hynix -- a pillar of South Korea's tech-led economy.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

“Starship drives the connectivity pillar and the AI pillar,” Greg Pendy, who covers the space economy for Clear Street Research, told MarketWatch, referring to two of SpaceX’s three business segments.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

A tall wooden shack housed the cage elevator, which carried miners one to two hundred feet underground, where they would disperse into various dugouts called rooms, each supported by a single wooden pillar.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

Chinese leaders also pledged to pursue breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies, support future industries and foster emerging sectors that could become pillars of the economy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Business investment is one of the two main pillars of U.S. economic growth — consumer spending is the other.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

And even in a conservative state like North Dakota, where I live, socialist, or interdependent, arrangements are seen as pillars of the community.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

One side of the terraced row of houses on Llewellyn Street was demolished and replaced by the motorway, leaving the remaining side staring at either a huge concrete embankment or pillars propping up the M4.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

There was something magical about it: the low walls, all that remained of some ancient hall, and the pillars looming over me like giants in an ancient playground.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

Related Words

• pedestal