What does "colony" mean?
A geographical area under the remote control of a country; especially to extract resources or exploit labor from that area.
Colony
/ˈkɔl.ə.ni/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A geographical area under the remote control of a country; especially to extract resources or exploit labor from that area.
- Grammar: colony is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: settlement, adverse possession, ally, alodium.
- Useful contrasts: independent nation, independent state, modern nation states.
- Usage evidence: At one time Nigeria was a British colony.
How to use "colony"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "colony" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "colony" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "colony" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "colony" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "colony" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "settlement" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "colony", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A geographical area under the remote control of a country; especially to extract resources or exploit labor from that area.
"Much of the eastern United States was formerly a British colony; other areas were French, Spanish, Dutch, or Swedish colonies."
- 2 a group of organisms of the same type living or growing together wordnet
- 3 A group of people who settle an area and maintain ties to their country of origin.
"a colony of British expats in Spain"
- 4 (microbiology) a group of organisms grown from a single parent cell wordnet
- 5 A group of people with similar interests, occupations, or characteristics, living in a particular area; the area such people occupy.
"a nudist colony; the statue was put up right in the middle of the artist colony"
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 a body of people who settle far from home but maintain ties with their homeland; inhabitants remain nationals of their home state but are not literally under the home state's system of government wordnet
- 7 A group of organisms of same or different species living together in close association.
"ant colony; coral colony"
- 8 a geographical area politically controlled by a distant country wordnet
- 9 An apartment complex or neighborhood. India
"Our colony is quite small, but each apartment is large."
- 10 a place where a group of people with the same interest or occupation are concentrated wordnet
- 11 A local group of Beaver Scouts.
- 12 one of the 13 British colonies that formed the original states of the United States wordnet
- 13 A potential new chapter of a fraternity or sorority awaiting official recognition from their headquarters.
"That weekend in 2013, fraternity members from Baruch, a commuter school in Manhattan whose Pi Delta Psi colony was only about three years old, gathered in a large rental house in Tunkhannock Township, Pa. Early on a frigid morning, Mr. Deng followed the other pledges in putting on a blindfold and backpack."
Verb
- 1 To colonize. obsolete, rare, transitive
"Such black Attendants Colonied thy Cell, / But for thy Preſence, Car’sbrook had been Hell."
Proper Noun
- 1 A place in the United States:; A town in Cullman County, Arkansas.
- 2 A place in the United States:; A township in Adams County, Iowa.
- 3 A place in the United States:; A township in Delaware County, Iowa.
- 4 A place in the United States:; A minor city in Anderson County, Kansas.
- 5 A place in the United States:; A former township in Greeley County, Kansas.
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A place in the United States:; A neighbourhood in south-west Lexington, Kentucky.
- 7 A place in the United States:; An unincorporated community and inactive township in Knox County, Missouri.
- 8 A place in the United States:; A town in Washita County, Oklahoma.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
independent nationindependent statemodern nation statessingle organism
Example
"At one time Nigeria was a British colony."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "colony"?
Common synonyms include: settlement, adverse possession, ally, alodium, archduchy, archdukedom.
How do you use "colony" in a sentence?
At one time Nigeria was a British colony.
How do you pronounce "colony"?
Pronounced /ˈkɔl.ə.ni/.
Etymology
From Middle English colane, colonye, from Latin colōnia (“colony”), from colōnus (“farmer; colonist”), from colō (“till, cultivate, worship”), from earlier *quelō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- (“to move; to turn (around)”). Doublet of Cologne, Colonia, and Köln.