colony

noun

col·​o·​ny ˈkä-lə-nē 

plural colonies

1

: an area over which a foreign nation or state extends or maintains control

a former colony

"British America" in 1776 signified not only the thirteen colonies and [the historical region called] the Floridas, but also Canada, Nova Scotia, and Britain's Caribbean colonies …

—Linda Colley

also : a group of people who establish residence in that area and who retain ties with the parent state

members of Plymouth colony

2

: a group of people who settle together in a new place

… building an ecosystem from scratch on Mars that can provide food, water and oxygen to support a colony is no small task.

—Eric Mack

also : the land or buildings used by such a group

… suggested … the possibility that crops grown inside the [theoretical Mars] colony would produce suffocating levels of oxygen.

—Scott Dance

3

: a distinguishable localized population of a species or type of organism

a colony of termites/ants

The birds [black skimmers] generally nest in colonies along beaches, with the largest colony in Florida residing on Marco Island.

—Karl Schneider

4

a

: a circumscribed mass of microorganisms usually growing in or on a solid medium

colonies of bacteria

b

: the aggregation of zooids of a compound animal (such as a coral or bryozoan)

A new coral colony is begun when a planula settles down on a reef, attaches itself there, and forms the first polyp, from which others bud.

—Joseph E. Neigel and John C. Avise

5

: a group of individuals or things with common characteristics or interests living in close association

an artist colony

a nudist colony

also : the land or buildings used by such a group

6

: a group of persons institutionalized away from others

a leper colony

a penal colony

also : the land or buildings used by such a group

Synonyms

• plantation

Examples of colony in a Sentence

Massachusetts was one of the original 13 British colonies that later became the United States.

a former French colony in Africa

Recent Examples on the Web

The Philippines became a colony of the United States in 1899 after Spain ceded control of its longtime territory to Washington as part of the settlement of the Spanish-American war. —Brad Lendon, CNN, 8 Apr. 2024

Hurrell ventured west in May 1925, landing in Laguna Beach, California, a popular art colony at the time, before establishing himself in Los Angeles. —Angelica Aboulhosn, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Mar. 2024

Where winters are cold, colonies of yellow jacket wasps typically die off once the weather turns. —Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024

Navalny's death in an Arctic prison colony last month has blown an enormous hole in Russia's democracy movement and opposition to Putin appears to have never been more dangerous. —Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 15 Mar. 2024

Lastly, Rickman said, the food left out for ferral cat colonies can attract coyotes and also puts the cats themselves at risk of becoming a coyote's next meal. —Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press, 14 Mar. 2024

What to know about the seafarers Also known as by-the-wind sailors, the blobs are not jellyfish but colonies of polyps similar to the Portuguese man o’ war, according to JellyWatch. —Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, 26 Mar. 2024

Her ancestors had come to South America with Francisco Pizarro, and she was raised in luxury as part of the imperial colony’s criollo élite. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024

Of course, democratic backsliding is not confined to former French colonies in Africa. —Ruth MacLean, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English colonie, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, from Latin colonia, from colonus farmer, colonist, from colere to cultivate — more at wheel

First Known Use

circa 1550, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing colony

• colony collapse disorder
• colony-stimulating factor
• penal colony
• sub-colony
• crown colony

Kids Definition

colony

noun

col·​o·​ny ˈkäl-ə-nē 

plural colonies

1

a

: a group of people sent out by a state to a new territory

b

: the territory in which such colonists live

c

: a distant territory belonging to or under the control of a nation

2

a

: a population of plants or animals in a particular place that belong to one species

b

: a mass of microbes usually growing in or on a solid food source (as agar)

3

: a group of people with common qualities or interests located in close association

an artist colony

Medical Definition

colony

noun

col·​o·​ny ˈkäl-ə-nē 

plural colonies

: a circumscribed mass of microorganisms usually growing in or on a solid medium