What does "column" mean?
A solid upright structure designed usually to support a larger structure above it, such as a roof or horizontal beam, but sometimes for decoration.
Column
/ˈkɒləm/ noun
noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A solid upright structure designed usually to support a larger structure above it, such as a roof or horizontal beam, but sometimes for decoration.
- Grammar: column is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: editorial, pillar, antenna tower, arcade.
- Useful contrasts: beam, beams, girder.
- Usage evidence: The geyser sends up a column of hot water every two hours.
How to use "column"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "column" 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 "column" 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 "column" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "column" 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 "column" is acting as noun 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 "editorial" 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 "column", 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 solid upright structure designed usually to support a larger structure above it, such as a roof or horizontal beam, but sometimes for decoration.
- 2 (architecture) a tall vertical cylindrical structure standing upright and used to support a structure wordnet
- 3 A vertical line of entries in a table, usually read from top to bottom.
- 4 a vertical cylindrical structure standing alone and not supporting anything (such as a monument) wordnet
- 5 A body of troops or army vehicles, usually strung out along a road.
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 a vertical glass tube used in column chromatography; a mixture is poured in the top and washed through a stationary substance where components of the mixture are adsorbed selectively to form colored bands wordnet
- 7 A body of text meant to be read line by line, especially in printed material that has multiple adjacent such on a single page.
"It was too hard to read the text across the whole page, so I split it into two columns."
- 8 any tubular or pillar-like supporting structure in the body wordnet
- 9 A unit of width, especially of advertisements, in a periodical, equivalent to the width of a usual column of text.
"Each column inch costs $300 a week; this ad is four columns by three inches, so will run $3600 a week."
- 10 a page or text that is vertically divided wordnet
- 11 A recurring feature in a periodical, especially an opinion piece, especially by a single author or small rotating group of authors, or on a single theme. broadly
"His initial foray into print media was as the author of a weekly column in his elementary-school newspaper."
- 12 an article giving opinions or perspectives wordnet
- 13 Something having similar vertical form or structure to the things mentioned above, such as a spinal column.
"The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom. Whirling wreaths and columns of burning wind, rushed around and over them."
- 14 a line of units following one after another wordnet
- 15 The gynostemium
- 16 a vertical array of numbers or other information wordnet
- 17 An instrument used to separate the different components of a liquid or to purify chemical compounds.
- 18 anything that approximates the shape of a column or tower wordnet
Example
"The geyser sends up a column of hot water every two hours."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "column"?
Common synonyms include: editorial, pillar, antenna tower, arcade, arch, army.
How do you use "column" in a sentence?
The geyser sends up a column of hot water every two hours.
How do you pronounce "column"?
Pronounced /ˈkɒləm/.
Etymology
From Middle English columne, columpne, columpe, borrowed from Old French columne, from Latin columna (“a column, pillar, post”), originally a collateral form of columen, contraction culmen (“a pillar, top, crown, summit”). Akin to Latin collis (“a hill”), celsus (“high”), probably to Ancient Greek κολοφών (kolophṓn, “top, summit”).