column Definition
col·umn (käl′əm)
noun
- a slender upright structure, generally consisting of a cylindrical shaft, a base, and a capital; pillar: it is usually a supporting or ornamental member in a building
- anything like a column in shape or function a column of water, the spinal column
- a formation of troops, ships, etc. in a file or adjacent files
- any of the vertical sections of printed matter that are side by side on a page, separated by a rule or blank space
- (any of) a series of feature articles appearing regularly in a newspaper or magazine, by a particular writer or about a certain subject
Etymology: ME & OFr colomne < L columna, collateral form of columen, column, pillar < IE base *kel-, to project > hill, holm, Gr kolophōn
column Related Forms
column Synonyms
column
n.
A post
pillar, support, prop, shaft, monument, totem, pylon, obelisk, stele, standard, tower, minaret, cylinder, mast, caryatid, telamon, peristyle, monolith, upright, pedestal, pilaster, pier; see also post 1.Types of architectural columns include: fluted, plain, round, square, Egyptian, Doric, Greek, Corinthian, Ionic, Composite, Roman, Romanesque, Tuscan, Gothic.
Journalistic commentary
comment, feature article, editorial, syndicated column; see article 2, exposition 2.A military formation
single file, string, platoon, company; see army 2, caravan, line 1.
column Usage Examples
Converse of object
- write: I used to ghost write a column for Tommy in the Evening Post.
- steer: We made various components such as parachute attachments, housing bearings, steering track columns among a few.
Adjective modifier
- vertebral: The rear part of the vertebral column has not yet been found.
- spinal: The fatal shot was fired, and Nelson ' s spinal column was broken.
- left-hand: Links to the documents are provided in the left-hand column of this webpage.
- right-hand: You can download the Inspector's Report in the right-hand column.
- weekly: He also writes a weekly column for The Glasgow Herald.
- Corinthian: Downstairs, to the left of the vestibule, graceful Corinthian columns create four wide bays.
Modifies a noun
- inch: The media has dedicated more than its fair share of column inches to the burgeoning ringtone market over the past 12 months.
- heading: Each of the column headings is a button allowing you to sort the table of search results to your preference.
- width: A display ad 2 column widths by 5cm costs around 80p for a single insertion.
- header: Yes, simply click on the column header of the field you'd like the summary to be sorted in terms of.
- density: NH The column density of Galactic Hydrogen from Stark et al.
- chromatography: Fractionation of the essential oil by column chromatography on silica gel was performed to improve identification of some constituents.
Noun used with modifier
- steering: The steering column could be raised or lowered to suit the height of the driver.
- gossip: The League table may take a few days to update after a fixture and the gossip column is purely for speculative purposes.
- marble: The dome of this temple which has marble columns with Corinthian capitals was restored very recently.
- newspaper: She also writes for a monthly a BBC Ariel newspaper column, Cutting Edge.
- agony: I read nothing except the criminal news and the agony column.
- lighting: Digging a trench for the electric supply to the lighting column on the car park steps at Abergynolwyn.
Browse dictionary entries near column
- ‹ columella
- ‹ Columbus Day
- ‹ Columbus
- ‹ columbium
- ‹ columbite
- ‹ columbine
- ‹ Columbian
- ‹ Columbia
- ‹ columbarium
- ‹ Columba
- columniation ›
- columnist ›
- colure ›
- coly ›
- colza ›
- com ›
- com- ›
- coma ›
- Coma Berenices ›
- comake ›

