water column
Americannoun
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water columns
plural
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a conceptual vertical section of water, covering the full depth of a body of water and used to explain differences in water pressure, chemical composition, and other properties.
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Textiles. a measure of water resistance.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
Some coral species with fast-growing branches are planted onto "coral trees" that look like old television antennas and are suspended in the water column, with floats to keep them upright.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
Shortly after fertilization, the larvae become mobile and are capable of coordinated swimming as they disperse in the water column.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2024
"Along with nutrients, mussels also filter contaminants present in the water column, like metals, microplastics, synthetic chemical compounds and other emerging contaminants of concern," Pankratz said.
From Science Daily ● May 31, 2024
These so-called microplastics are spread throughout the water column and have been found in every corner of the globe, from Mount Everest, the highest peak, to the Mariana Trench, the deepest trough.
From National Geographic ● Feb. 21, 2024
His foot hooked on something in the air and he hopped again, bounding up an invisible set of steps as Ivan’s water column thundered through where he had just stood.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
