column

noun col·umn \ ˈkä-ləm also ˈkäl-yəm \

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

1 a : a vertical arrangement of items printed or written on a page

columns of numbers

b : one of two or more vertical sections of a printed page separated by a rule or blank space

The news article takes up three columns.

c : an accumulation arranged vertically : stack

columns of paint cans

d : one in a usually regular series of newspaper or magazine articles

the gossip column

advice columns

2 : a supporting pillar; especially : one consisting of a usually round shaft, a capital, and a base

a colonnade of marble columns

3 a : something resembling a column in form, position, or function

a column of water

columns of smoke

b : a tube or cylinder in which a chromatographic separation takes place

4 : a long row (as of soldiers)

columns of troops

5 : one of the vertical lines of elements of a determinant or matrix

6 : a statistical category or grouping

put another game in the win column

—

columned

play \ˈkä-ləmd, ˈkäl-yəmd\ adjective

See column defined for English-language learners

See column defined for kids

Examples of column in a Sentence

a facade with marble columns
Add the first column of numbers.
The article takes up three columns.
The error appears at the bottom of the second column.
She writes a weekly column for the paper.

Recent Examples of column from the Web

The Regulars is a photo and video column offering a glimpse into the lives of ordinary people in the Bay Area, caught in routine activities of modern urban life.

— scott strazzante, San Francisco Chronicle, "Singing for peace gives Mill Valley senior energy, hope," 15 Apr. 2018
Jenny Dial Creech won third place for sports column writing.

— Houston Chronicle, "Chronicle brings home top awards from state journalism," 15 Apr. 2018
In some counties, the candidates will stretch over three columns.

— john myers, latimes.com, "Tens of thousands of votes are in danger of not being counted in California's biggest races this June," 15 Apr. 2018
But Brooks’s column did not come to that conclusion.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "The GOP’s Never-Trumpers Are Really Just Never-Democrats," 15 Apr. 2018
A few months after a news column exposed Plame's identity as a CIA operative, the Department of Justice launched an investigation into the leak at the CIA's request.

— veronica stracqualursi, CNN, "Comey played key role in Libby case," 13 Apr. 2018
Olivares was inspired by Johnson’s use of wooden ship masts as structural columns in response to World War II restrictions on steel.

— pilar viladas, Curbed, "How ship masts inspired this LA-designer’s latest textile collection," 12 Apr. 2018
The Giant's Causeway is comprised of around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns that resemble a footpath.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Scientists Uncover the Secret of Strange, Geometrical Rock Formations," 12 Apr. 2018
Mulch volcanoes, with the mulch being the volcano and the tree being a vertical column of lava, are not what nature intended.

— ellen nibali, baltimoresun.com, "Garden Q&A: Mulch volcanoes are not what nature intended," 12 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'column.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Illustration of column

Origin and Etymology of column

Middle English columne, from Anglo-French columpne, from Latin columna, from columen top; akin to Latin collis hill — more at hill

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

column Synonyms

Synonyms

cue, file, line, queue, range, string, train;

Related Words

echelon, rank, row, tier;

chain, progression, sequence, succession;

array;

Other Architecture Terms

buttress, casita, cornice, fanlight, garret, lintel, parapet, pilaster, plinth

COLUMN Defined for English Language Learners

column

noun

: a long post made of steel, stone, etc., that is used as a support in a building
: a group of printed or written items (such as numbers or words) shown one under the other down a page
: any one of two or more sections of print that appear next to each other on a page and are separated by a blank space or a line

COLUMN Defined for Kids

column

noun col·umn \ ˈkä-ləm \

1 : one of two or more vertical sections of a printed page

Read the article in the left column.

2 : a group of items shown one under the other down a page

a column of figures

3 : a regular feature in a newspaper or magazine

a sports column

4 : a pillar used to support a building

5 : something that is tall or thin in shape or arrangement

a column of smoke

6 : a long straight row

a column of soldiers

Medical Dictionary

column

noun col·umn \ ˈkäl-əm \

: a longitudinal subdivision of the spinal cord that resembles a column or pillar: as

a : any of the principal longitudinal subdivisions of gray matter or white matter in each lateral half of the spinal cord — see dorsal horn, gray column, lateral column 1, ventral horn — compare funiculus a

b : any of a number of smaller bundles of spinal nerve fibers : fasciculus