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pillar definition

pil·lar (pil′ər)

noun

  1. a long, slender, vertical structure used to support a superstructure; column
  2. such a column standing alone as a monument
  3. anything like a pillar in form or function, as a formation of ore left standing as a support in a mine
  4. a person who is a main support of an institution, movement, etc.

Etymology: ME piler < OFr < VL *pilare < L pila, column

transitive verb

to support or brace with or as with pillars
pillar Idioms

from pillar to post

from one predicament, place of appeal, etc. to another, usually under harassment

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

medical pillar definition - medical

pillar Synonyms

pillar

n.

  1. A column

    pedestal, mast, shaft; see column 1, post 1.

  2. A support

    mainstay, dependence, guider; see support 2.

from pillar to post*

back and forth, fluctuating, vacillating; see undecided.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

pillar Usage Examples

Object

  • portico: Sedan chairs, escorted by servants bearing flambeaux, deposited their occupants within the pillared portico.

Converse of object

  • carve: Inside the lower hall, the original front door is still there, complete with the carved stone pillars.

Converse of subject

  • flank: The central doorway on the east front is flanked by Tuscan pillars against a rusticated surround and has a pediment above.

Adjective modifier

  • trig: Surprisingly, there is no trig pillar, just a simple cairn.

Modifies a noun

  • drill: The triangular area is where I could not reach with the pillar drill!

Noun used with modifier

  • triangulation: A grassy rake cuts across the fractured eastern face to emerge just below the triangulation pillar.

Preposition: of

  • cloud: That is the modern day iconic pillar of cloud.
pillar usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

pillar quotes

But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

-Bible (Old Testament)

And the L went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night.

-Bible (Old Testament)

In our country the lie has become not just a moral category but a pillar of the State.

-Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Isayevich

pillar quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"pillar." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/pillar>

APA Style

pillar. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/pillar

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