1
as in plantations
a settlement in a new country or region
the early history of New York City when it was a Dutch colony
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Recent Examples of colonies
The territory remained under Portuguese rule, apart from a brief Japanese occupation during the Second World War, until 1975, when a left-wing Portuguese government pledged to withdraw from all its colonies.
—
Angelica Ang, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2025
Beck also keeps three goats and a few colonies of honeybees.
—Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 30 Oct. 2025
Most of the territory felt a strong desire to maintain close connection to the monarchy and British Empire, but otherwise the colonies of British North America were far apart from one another geographically and psychologically.
—Dónal Gill, The Dial, 28 Oct. 2025
How To Identify Spider Mites Spider mites live in colonies.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 27 Oct. 2025
Synthetic pheromones may help hives In field trials, the researchers tested whether adding synthetic pheromone blends could calm the colonies.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 2025
As this heatwave persisted, the authors tracked the health of 52,356 wild and restored Acropora coral colonies across the 350-mile length of Florida's coral reef.
—Doyle Rice, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
The death toll was less in the slightly cooler waters off the coast of Miami-Dade and Broward — more like 38% of colonies died.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
The surviving remnants of colonies, mainly located toward the north end of the reef system, are also vulnerable to disease, predators and storm damage.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
Angelica Ang, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2025
Beck also keeps three goats and a few colonies of honeybees.
—Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 30 Oct. 2025
Most of the territory felt a strong desire to maintain close connection to the monarchy and British Empire, but otherwise the colonies of British North America were far apart from one another geographically and psychologically.
—Dónal Gill, The Dial, 28 Oct. 2025
How To Identify Spider Mites Spider mites live in colonies.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 27 Oct. 2025
Synthetic pheromones may help hives In field trials, the researchers tested whether adding synthetic pheromone blends could calm the colonies.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 2025
As this heatwave persisted, the authors tracked the health of 52,356 wild and restored Acropora coral colonies across the 350-mile length of Florida's coral reef.
—Doyle Rice, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
The death toll was less in the slightly cooler waters off the coast of Miami-Dade and Broward — more like 38% of colonies died.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
The surviving remnants of colonies, mainly located toward the north end of the reef system, are also vulnerable to disease, predators and storm damage.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonies
Noun
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Historians believe the plate lunch evolved from the Japanese bento box — another form of takeaway eating — in the 1880s, when giant fruit and sugar companies owned huge plantations in Hawaii.—
Jake Harris,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 Oct. 2025
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Banana farms, coconut plantations and citrus groves perished in the storm.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The surge in demand is already driving up energy prices and fueling political backlash as sprawling data centers turn into election-season flashpoints in the communities where they are being constructed.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
5 Nov. 2025
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As New Yorkers showed today, Americans – especially young people and communities of color – are demanding leaders with vision who stand with the oppressed, not the powerful; who build peace and prosperity instead of profit from war and division.—
Dan Gooding,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The station's successor will come from the private industry, as several companies are working on designs for next-generation space outposts.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
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Bonifacio Taking up residence in what was once one of Wendy’s first outposts—the fast-food chain was founded in Columbus in 1969—Bonifacio is the city’s first full-service Filipino restaurant and bar.—
Katie Chang,
AFAR Media,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Colonies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonies. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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