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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of colonies
The team kept colonies of Iberian harvester ants in artificial nests in its lab.
—
Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 13 Sep. 2025
Antiquity is all about establishing a strong foundation for the player’s small corner of the world, while exploration is about finding out more of the wider world and creating colonies.
—Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025
This means the seasonal blooms of insects like caterpillars – which offspring rely on at nesting colonies – have been and gone by the time the birds arrive.
—New Atlas, 7 Sep. 2025
Water safaris Ribsafari in Vestmannaeyjar offers tours of the puffin colonies on Elliðaey and Bjarnaey, where visitors can observe the impressive seabirds in their natural habitat.
—Mia Taylor, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
These polyp groups are called colonies.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
Writers and rulers across Europe and the Americas have looked back to Virgil’s epic as a model for their own founding myths, in the construction of new nations, new colonies, new empires.
—Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025
Some colonies contain more than a thousand wasps.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 1 Sep. 2025
Beaver colonies had made a shambles of the upper reaches of the Chickenbone River.
—Ben East, Outdoor Life, 28 Aug. 2025
Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 13 Sep. 2025
Antiquity is all about establishing a strong foundation for the player’s small corner of the world, while exploration is about finding out more of the wider world and creating colonies.
—Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025
This means the seasonal blooms of insects like caterpillars – which offspring rely on at nesting colonies – have been and gone by the time the birds arrive.
—New Atlas, 7 Sep. 2025
Water safaris Ribsafari in Vestmannaeyjar offers tours of the puffin colonies on Elliðaey and Bjarnaey, where visitors can observe the impressive seabirds in their natural habitat.
—Mia Taylor, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
These polyp groups are called colonies.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
Writers and rulers across Europe and the Americas have looked back to Virgil’s epic as a model for their own founding myths, in the construction of new nations, new colonies, new empires.
—Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025
Some colonies contain more than a thousand wasps.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 1 Sep. 2025
Beaver colonies had made a shambles of the upper reaches of the Chickenbone River.
—Ben East, Outdoor Life, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonies
Noun
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Now, the decimation of the environment and indigenous people across the world, from the palm oil plantations of Indonesia to the cobalt mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has reached the shores of Great Nicobar.—
M. Rajshekhar,
Time,
11 Sep. 2025
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Gullah Geechee people are descendants of West and Central Africans who were enslaved on the rice, indigo and cotton plantations on the Sea Islands of the lower Atlantic states, including part of north Florida.—
Raisa Habersham,
Miami Herald,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Specifically, Shellenberger testified that sources had informed him that intelligence communities are in possession of numerous high-resolution photos and videos of the craft unlike any of the grainy imagery that has so far been declassified.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
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The series builds on The Star's efforts to improve coverage of local communities.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Because the local chefs and restaurant owners won’t be operating the airport outposts themselves, Areas and High Flying Foods are obligated to follow the recipes provided them and to work collaboratively on training the employees.—
Lori Weisberg,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Sep. 2025
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Worden tells me in an interview that Harvard scholar Robin Wordsworth, his co-author on a recent Red Planet study and one of the top American experts on terraforming Mars, is now designing compact astronaut outposts that can be positioned inside lava tubes and speedily inhabited.—
Kevin Holden Platt,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Colonies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonies. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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