A column is a tall, often decorated cylinder of stone which is built to honour someone or forms part of a building.
...a London landmark, Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square.
2. countable noun
A column is something that has a tall narrow shape.
The explosion sent a column of smoke thousands of feet into the air. [+ of]
3. countable noun
A column is a group of people or animals which moves in a long line.
There were reports of columns of military vehicles appearing on the streets. [+ of]
Synonyms: line, train, row, file More Synonyms of column
4. countable noun
On a printed page such as a page of a dictionary, newspaper, or printed chart, a column is one of two or more vertical sections which are read downwards.
We had stupidly been looking at the wrong column of figures. [+ of]
In The Dictionary of Quotations, there are no fewer than one and a half columns devotedto 'kiss'.
5. countable noun
In a newspaper or magazine, a column is a section that is always written by the same person or is always about the same topic.
His name features frequently in the social columns of the tabloid newspapers.
She also writes a regular column for the Times Educational Supplement. [+ for]
Synonyms: article, story, feature, piece More Synonyms of column
6. See also agony column, gossip column, personal column, spinal column, steering column
More Synonyms of column
column in British English
(ˈkɒləm)
noun
1.
an upright post or pillar usually having a cylindrical shaft, a base, and a capital
2.
a.
a form or structure in the shape of a column
a column of air
b.
a monument
3.
a row, line, or file, as of people in a queue
4. military
a narrow formation in which individuals or units follow one behind the other
5. journalism
a.
any of two or more vertical sections of type on a printed page, esp on a newspaper page
b.
a regular article or feature in a paper
the fashion column
6.
a vertical array of numbers or mathematical terms
7. botany
a long structure in a flower, such as that of an orchid, consisting of the united stamens and style
8. anatomy, zoology
any elongated structure, such as a tract of grey matter in the spinal cord or the stalk of a crinoid
Derived forms
columnar (kəˈlʌmnə)
adjective
columned (ˈcolumned) or columnated (ˈkɒləmˌneɪtɪd)
adjective
Word origin
C15: from Latin columna, from columen top, peak; related to Latin collis hill
column in American English
(ˈkɑləm)
noun
1.
a slender upright structure, generally consisting of a cylindrical shaft, a base, and a capital; pillar: it is usually asupporting or ornamental member in a building
2.
anything like a column in shape or function
a column of water, the spinal column
3.
a formation of troops, ships, etc. in a file or adjacent files
4.
any of the vertical sections of printed matter that are side by side on a page, separated by a rule or blank space
5.
(any of) a series of feature articles appearing regularly in a newspaper or magazine, by a particular writer or about a certain subject
Derived forms
columnar (coˈlumnar) (kəˈlʌmnər)
adjective
columned (ˈcolumned) (kəˈlʌməmd)
adjective
Word origin
ME & OFr colomne < L columna, collateral form of columen, column, pillar < IE base *kel-, to project > hill, holm1, Gr kolophōn
column in Chemical Engineering
(kɒləm)
Word forms: (regular plural) columns
noun
(Chemical Engineering: Distillation)
A column is a tall, vertical vessel which separates substances by gravity, usually for distillation.
Within refineries there are several other, smaller distillation towers called columns, designed to separate specific and unique products.
Separation of the oxide and the organic byproducts is accomplished by distillationin two columns.
A column is a tall, vertical vessel which separates substances by gravity, usually for distillation.
bubble column, column extractor
Examples of 'column' in a sentence
column
These project a vertical column of light when the sun is low in the sky.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
There are two ways this column could go.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Nowhere before or since has one column covered so many bases.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The privilege of writing this column is the regular invitations to book launches.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Keep an eye on this column and our pages online.
The Sun (2013)
Should not a column about radio be as portable as the medium itself?
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The pictures are intended to be placed on two columns directly below the main dome.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The first is from the two leading diagonal columns on a keyboard.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
You will be stunned to see that the right column is one thousand times longer than the left.
Christianity Today (2000)
The On this day column is always worth reading.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
His informative, always witty columns have owed much to his happy family life.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Welcome to my regular gardening column in Weekend.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
After all, this is the page where his column usually appears.
The Sun (2011)
This is to be a column about both, and neither.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It's a tricky one for this column.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The Times ran regular columns of advice on how civilians could aid the war effort.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The two men gazed at the tall column of smoke that climbed up lazily into the sky.
Iain Gale Man of Honour (2007)
I could write more columns about journalism, which is changing very rapidly and is under great pressure.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Notice also that when you made either sound, the flow of the column of air coming from the lungs is momentarily interrupted and then released.
Harris, Marvin Cultural Anthropology (1995)
No, it's a column about air conditioning.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
This column has always loved a good list, so here's two of them.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
In 1996 I wrote a weekly humorous column on these pages.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Thomas Kellaway felt very small and timid as he passed between the tall columns outside the amphitheatre.
Tracy Chevalier Burning Bright (2007)
Word lists with
column
architectural features
In other languages
column
British English: column /ˈkɒləm/ NOUN
A column is a tall solid cylinder, especially one supporting part of a building.
The house had six white columns across the front.
American English: column
Arabic: عَمُود
Brazilian Portuguese: coluna
Chinese: 圆柱
Croatian: stup
Czech: sloup
Danish: kolonne
Dutch: kolom
European Spanish: columna
Finnish: pylväs
French: colonne
German: Säule
Greek: στήλη
Italian: colonna
Japanese: 円柱
Korean: 기둥
Norwegian: søyle
Polish: kolumna
European Portuguese: coluna
Romanian: stâlp
Russian: колонна
Latin American Spanish: columna
Swedish: kolumn
Thai: หลักเสาหินใหญ่
Turkish: sütun
Ukrainian: колона
Vietnamese: cột báo
All related terms of 'column'
column inch
a unit of measurement for advertising space, one inch deep and one column wide
advice column
In a newspaper or magazine, the advice column contains letters from readers about their personal problems , and advice on what to do about them.
agony column
In a British newspaper or magazine, the agony column contains letters from readers about their personal problems, and advice on what to do about them.
bubble column
A bubble column is a reactor in which a gas bubbles up through a liquid or slurry .
column inches
the amount of coverage given to a story in a newspaper
column shift
A column shift is a gearshift lever mounted on the steering column.
fifth column
(originally) a group of Falangist sympathizers in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War who were prepared to join the four columns of insurgents marching on the city
gossip column
A gossip column is a part of a newspaper or magazine where the activities and private lives of famous people are discussed.
short column
a column whose relative dimensions ensure that when it is overloaded it fails by crushing , rather than buckling
social column
a column in a newspaper or magazine that details the activities of members of fashionable society
spinal column
Your spinal column is your spine .
control column
a lever or pillar , usually fitted with a handwheel , used to control the movements of an aircraft
obituary column
the division of a publication reserved for obituaries
personal column
The personal column in a newspaper or magazine contains messages for individual people and advertisements of a private nature .
showbiz column
a column about the entertainment industry
society column
a column in a newspaper or magazine that details the activities of members of fashionable society
steering column
In a car or other vehicle, the steering column is the rod on which the steering wheel is fixed .
column extractor
A column extractor is a tall vessel in which one liquid removes something from another liquid using physical contact .
vertebral column
a series of contiguous or interconnecting bony or cartilaginous segments that surround and protect the spinal cord
correspondence column
a section of a newspaper or magazine in which are printed readers ' letters to the editor
distillation column
A distillation column is a tall vessel in which crude oil is heated and separated into its components .
fractionating column
a long vertical cylinder used in fractional distillation , in which internal reflux enables separation of high and low boiling fractions to take place
lonely hearts column
the part of a newspaper or magazine where lonely hearts ads appear
lost-and-found column
a column in a newspaper that carries advertisements from people who have lost or found things
Chinese translation of 'column'
column
(ˈkɔləm)
n(c)
(Archit) 支柱 (zhīzhù) (个(個), gè)
[of smoke]柱形物 (zhùxíngwù)
[of people, tanks]纵(縱)队(隊) (zòngduì)
(= in newspaper etc) 专(專)栏(欄) (zhuānlán) (个(個), gè)
1 (noun)
Definition
an upright pillar usually having a cylindrical shaft, a base, and a capital
Great stone steps led past Greek columns to the main building.
Synonyms
pillar
the pillars supporting the roof
support
Rats had been gnawing at the supports of the house.
post
Eight wooden posts were driven into the ground.
shaft
a drive shaft
upright
obelisk
The obelisk was erected in his memory in 1812.
pilaster
caryatid
2 (noun)
Definition
a narrow formation in which individuals or units follow one behind the other
There were reports of columns of military vehicles appearing on the streets.
Synonyms
line
Children clutching empty bowls form a line.
train
a long train of oil tankers
row
a row of pretty little cottages
file
A file of soldiers, marched past.
rank
Ranks of police in riot gear stood nervously by.
string
The landscape is broken only by a string of villages.
queue
A queue of more than sixty people snaked its way down the pavement.
procession
a funeral procession
cavalcade
a cavalcade of limousines and police motorcycles
3 (noun)
Definition
a regular feature in a paper
His name features frequently in the social columns of the tabloid newspapers.
Synonyms
article
a newspaper article
story
Those are some of the top stories in the news.
feature
a special feature on breast cancer research
piece
There was a piece about him on television.
item
There was an item in the paper about him.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of cavalcade
Definition
a procession of people on horseback or in cars
a cavalcade of limousines and police motorcycles
Synonyms
parade,
train,
procession,
march-past
in the sense of feature
Definition
a prominent story in a newspaper
a special feature on breast cancer research
Synonyms
article,
report,
story,
piece,
comment,
item,
column
in the sense of file
Definition
a line of people in marching formation, one behind another