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 chef Gregory Gourdet, the son of Haitian immigrants, approaches France from the view of the colonies, moving from Vietnam to Louisiana but ever circling back to the Caribbean and its wealth of plantains, salt cod, Scotch bonnets, pikliz and not-so-humble rice and beans.
—
Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 11 May 2026
France has long maintained a policy of economic, political and military sway over its former colonies dubbed Françafrique, which included keeping thousands of troops in the region.
—ABC News, 11 May 2026
Whether other wasp colonies are around is not always a deal breaker.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 9 May 2026
In the early 18th century, the American colonies suffered a depression-level economic contraction.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 9 May 2026
The conventional wisdom is that there's not much to do on this Ionian side of Calabria except go to the beach or maybe visit the overgrown remains of ancient Greek colonies like Locri or Sybaris.
—Lee Marshall, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 May 2026
The law should go into effect this month, helping to fulfill President Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 promise of returning African heritage to the continent, with the hope of bolstering diplomatic relations with France’s former colonies.
—Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 8 May 2026
Ant colonies start to grow, and spiders come out of their overwintering sites to start hunting.
—Kody Boye, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 May 2026
Burnard and O’Shaughnessy point out that, whereas Britain regularly sent nobles to govern the Caribbean colonies—and dukes and earls to Ireland—the men appointed to administer the thirteen colonies more often lacked titles and were paid less.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 11 May 2026
France has long maintained a policy of economic, political and military sway over its former colonies dubbed Françafrique, which included keeping thousands of troops in the region.
—ABC News, 11 May 2026
Whether other wasp colonies are around is not always a deal breaker.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 9 May 2026
In the early 18th century, the American colonies suffered a depression-level economic contraction.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 9 May 2026
The conventional wisdom is that there's not much to do on this Ionian side of Calabria except go to the beach or maybe visit the overgrown remains of ancient Greek colonies like Locri or Sybaris.
—Lee Marshall, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 May 2026
The law should go into effect this month, helping to fulfill President Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 promise of returning African heritage to the continent, with the hope of bolstering diplomatic relations with France’s former colonies.
—Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 8 May 2026
Ant colonies start to grow, and spiders come out of their overwintering sites to start hunting.
—Kody Boye, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 May 2026
Burnard and O’Shaughnessy point out that, whereas Britain regularly sent nobles to govern the Caribbean colonies—and dukes and earls to Ireland—the men appointed to administer the thirteen colonies more often lacked titles and were paid less.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonies
Noun
-
Indonesians make up the large bulk of foreign labor in Malaysia, predominantly in plantations and construction.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 May 2026
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The study found that agave plantations in the two areas have expanded by over 400% the past three decades, increasingly replacing forests and farmland with a species of agave known as espadin, used in most commercial mezcal.—
Claudia Rosel,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
Noun
-
Private equity companies would be banned from investing in youth sports teams, leagues, facilities and events under a new federal bill, a move lawmakers say would lower participation costs for families and restore control of a public good to local communities.—
Kenny Jacoby,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
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By then, Sudan had plunged into a civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, which have both been accused of war crimes against non-Arab communities.—
Annie Hylton,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
Mexico’s network of diplomatic outposts is by far the most extensive in the United States.—
Matthew Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
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The Administration listed field offices for closure, then delisted them, though some rural outposts, in Iowa, Montana, and West Virginia, offer only phone service owing to the loss of staff.—
E. Tammy Kim,
New Yorker,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Colonies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonies. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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