water column
noun
plural water columns
1
: a vertical expanse of water stretching between the surface and the floor of a body of water
Shallow feeders, sea lions work the top 600 feet of the water column for hake, rock-fish, herring, sardines … and squid, but opportunistically capturing anything that happens by.—
Downs Matthews
Downs MatthewsOnly a few animals of the water column above would have died and settled into the sediments below during the short time when the mudslide was coalescing into a layer of sediment in the stagnant basin.—Stephen Jay Gould
Stephen Jay Gould2
: a vertical pipe with valves and spout for delivering water to a locomotive tender
Examples of water column in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But the truth is these fish will travel great distances up into the water column to chase a meal.
—Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2025
The leftover slurry of water, sediment and crushed nodules is then dumped back into the middle of the water column, creating plumes.
—Alexus Cazares-Nuesser, The Conversation, 25 Mar. 2025
Man o’ wars use a balloon-like float to move up and down in the water column, according to NOAA, and their tentacles can grow an average of 30 feet long, with some man o’ wars reaching as long as 100 feet.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 20 June 2025
Picture a volcanic eruption – not of lava, but of fine, murky sediments expanding throughout the water column, affecting everything in its path.
—Alexus Cazares-Nuesser, The Conversation, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for water column
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Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2025
The leftover slurry of water, sediment and crushed nodules is then dumped back into the middle of the water column, creating plumes.
—Alexus Cazares-Nuesser, The Conversation, 25 Mar. 2025
Man o’ wars use a balloon-like float to move up and down in the water column, according to NOAA, and their tentacles can grow an average of 30 feet long, with some man o’ wars reaching as long as 100 feet.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 20 June 2025
Picture a volcanic eruption – not of lava, but of fine, murky sediments expanding throughout the water column, affecting everything in its path.
—Alexus Cazares-Nuesser, The Conversation, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for water column
Cite this Entry
“Water column.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/water%20column. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
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