colonies

plural of colony
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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2
as in communities
a group of people with a common interest living in one place New Hampshire's MacDowell colony was founded as a summer residence for writers and composers

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of colonies These wasps live in colonies, with up to 5,000 insects living in a single nest at one time. Patricia S York, Southern Living, 21 June 2026 Palladino hopes more creative exposures to bees will also encourage others to protect their vital colonies. Kara Finnstrom, CBS News, 19 June 2026 After the Boston Tea Party, the British government cracked down on the colonies with a series of oppressive laws known as the Intolerable Acts. Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 18 June 2026 This often meant that European nations recruited talented footballers from their former colonies to stop them from playing elsewhere. Simon Hughes, New York Times, 17 June 2026 Meanwhile, in the colonies, Washington and the Continental Army struggled without the same trove of cartographic knowledge their enemy had collected over the previous decades. April White, JSTOR Daily, 17 June 2026 Current standards require the concentration of enterococci not to exceed 104 colonies of bacteria per 100 milliliters of sample. Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 17 June 2026 With reddish-brown bodies, fire ants travel in swarms and build large colonies deep underground. Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 17 June 2026 Because if Balogun, 24, felt overlooked in England, he’s felt looked after in the colonies. Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonies
Noun
  • About 12 million Africans were forcefully taken by traders from European nations from the 16th to the 19th century and enslaved on plantations that built wealth at the price of misery.
    ABC News, ABC News, 19 June 2026
  • Formerly privately owned and the site of two plantations, the land is now managed by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
    Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 17 June 2026
Noun
  • Officials say shallow earthquakes can produce stronger shaking at the surface, increasing the potential impact for communities near the epicenter.
    Brady Halbleib, CBS News, 25 June 2026
  • His invention hasn't been implemented at any crosswalks yet, but Jung said his next step is to pilot SmartBlink with local governments in various communities.
    Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 25 June 2026
Noun
  • The parallel Katsuya brand was born, bringing sleek, high-end outposts to Brentwood, Hollywood, downtown and Century City.
    Melody Xu, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2026
  • The event is welcoming a slew of new participants this year, including New York’s Anton Kern Gallery; Richard Saltoun Gallery, based in London, Rome, and New York; and Nara Roesler, which has outposts in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and New York.
    News Desk, Artforum, 26 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Colonies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonies. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.

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