pillar

noun pil·lar \ ˈpi-lər \

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

Definition of pillar

1 a : a firm upright support for a superstructure : post

b : a usually ornamental column or shaft; especially : one standing alone for a monument

2 a : a supporting, integral, or upstanding member or part

a pillar of society

b : a fundamental precept

the five pillars of Islam

3 : a solid mass of coal, rock, or ore left standing to support a mine roof

4 : a body part that resembles a column

—

pillarless

adjective

— from pillar to post

: from one place or one predicament to another

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Examples of pillar in a Sentence

the ancient Greek temple boasted graceful marble pillars with richly ornamented tops
my father has been my pillar throughout this crisis

Recent Examples of pillar from the Web

During his first two seasons managing the Dodgers, Roberts made do with a historic number of players sidelined because of injury and spent extended time without the pillars of his roster.

— andy mccullough, latimes.com, "Dodgers waiting for Kenley Jansen's velocity to return," 5 Apr. 2018
Shropshire cites research, knowledge dissemination and education as the three pillars of the institute.

— katherine fitzgerald, azcentral, "Bridging sports and research: a look inside ASU's Global Sport Institute," 3 Apr. 2018
In just a year or two, Zuckerberg could easily reinvent himself as a cuddly philanthropist, someone akin to Bill Gates, rather than the person who singlehandedly dismantled a crucial pillar of liberal democracy.

— felix salmon, WIRED, "The Case for A Zuck-Free Facebook," 3 Apr. 2018
On April 4, 1968, an assassin’s bullet struck down the pillar of the civil rights movement and shook a divided nation.

— bill van niekerken, San Francisco Chronicle, "When SF mourned Martin Luther King Jr., 50 years ago," 3 Apr. 2018
These trusted custodians must remain pillars of strength and should be retaining capital, not reducing it,' Hoenig said in a speech at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

— tory newmyer, Washington Post, "The Finance 202: 'We're jittery right now.' Amazon sell-off reflects market's sensitivity to Trump headlines," 29 Mar. 2018
Her remarks seemed aimed at containing the diplomatic crisis to Russia’s relations with London and Washington, the pillars of a trans-Atlantic alliance that Moscow, since the Cold War era, has accused of harboring a particular animus against Russia.

— andrew higgins, New York Times, "Expelling Diplomats, a Furious Kremlin Escalates a Crisis," 29 Mar. 2018
Another pillar of American gun industry, Colt Holding Co., also took a trip through bankruptcy in 2015.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Remington, one of nation’s top gunmakers, files for bankruptcy," 26 Mar. 2018
Their presence along Pennsylvania Avenue, climbing the walls of embassies and government buildings – the literal pillars of US democracy – to view the stage felt meaningful.

— rebecca asoulin, The Christian Science Monitor, "What the March for Our Lives looked like through the eyes of young reporters," 26 Mar. 2018

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