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
Only 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
2
: 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 On bright sunny days, schools of baitfish will move to the top of the water column to feed on phytoplankton. Kubie Brown, Outdoor Life, 3 Oct. 2024 Really giving it a ton of action and letting those tentacles do the work up in the water column seems to generate a lot more bites. Shaye Baker, Outdoor Life, 8 Aug. 2024 For the deep-dwelling sharks, that meant move up in the water column to a more oxygen-rich zone or die. Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 31 July 2024 How deep to troll, too, is another variable, one again answered by locating fish in the water column with your depth finder. M.d. Johnson, Field & Stream, 20 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for water column 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'water column.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of water column was in 1845

Dictionary Entries Near water column

Cite this Entry

“Water column.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/water%20column. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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