columns

Definition of columnsnext
plural of column
1
as in rows
a series of persons or things arranged one behind another a column of ants stretched between the fallen hot dog and the ant hill

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in pilasters
an upright shaft that supports an overhead structure engraved columns supported the arch on either side

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 columns Twelve students, including Brendan LaFave, the high-achieving kid from Ann Arbor, live in the three-story brown-brick house, which has white columns along its wide front porch. Emma Green, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2026 Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns, editorials and more. Scott Turner, Denver Post, 16 Apr. 2026 The columns were to rise 160 feet and symbolize the North and South after the Civil War. Arden Farhi, CBS News, 16 Apr. 2026 Facilities include a 24/7 gym and classical Roman-style pool adorned with limestone columns and vaulted ceilings. Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 15 Apr. 2026 His columns appear on the third Wednesday of each month. Tom Zirpoli, Baltimore Sun, 14 Apr. 2026 The white curved walls offset with those two Miami Beach electric-blue mosaic columns, a single rose and an ADT home security sign took my eye. Jerald “coop” Cooper, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026 The plot that spins from this opening includes a series of events involving philosophy, parenting, mental health, disability, romance and international art terrorism that would take several columns worth to summarize. John Warner, Chicago Tribune, 11 Apr. 2026 Verified video and photos from the region showed how strikes shot towering columns of smoke into the sky above Beirut and sparked a desperate evacuation. Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 9 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for columns
Noun
  • Growing these plants around the perimeter of your garden can make groundhogs less inclined to venture further into garden rows.
    Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Apr. 2026
  • Blooming Layers Alternating rows of various plants create a striking contrast.
    Tessa Cooper, The Spruce, 17 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • In the end, Laffrey, whose Broadway credits include Maybe Happy Ending and Parade, settled for using an iPhone app to record the size of pilasters and mullioned mirrors.
    Carey Purcell, Architectural Digest, 27 Oct. 2025
  • With pilasters, a limestone facade, and classic symmetrical design, the three-story building exemplifies the Beaux-Arts style popular at the turn of the 20th century, grand but not ostentatious.
    Irene S. Levine, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • All lines will be using a weekday schedule, although Copley Station on the Green Line will be closed all day Monday.
    Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 20 Apr. 2026
  • The monitor showed a slightly bent rectangle covered with dots and lines, which didn’t look so bad to me.
    Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Here, a stucco-and-stone entry provides a contrasting warmth through the simple addition of wooden pillars on the porch.
    Patricia Shannon, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 Apr. 2026
  • Swisher has taken some strategies with her for these pillars of wellness.
    Madeline Holcombe, CNN Money, 11 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Though the Indian government attempted to reassure people that there was plenty of supply, panic swept in in the early days of March, with queues for gas pumps and panic-buying.
    Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 11 Apr. 2026
  • The roundabouts hope to offer a solution for long traffic queues and speed control through the Covenant, allowing for a continuous flow of traffic instead of the hard stops and starts of traffic signals or stop signs, according to county project manager Cynthia Curtis.
    Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Vance jousted with at least one heckler over the war in Gaza, and he was pressed by another person over the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case files.
    ABC News, ABC News, 15 Apr. 2026
  • While no longer run by Allen or Gates – Allen left Microsoft in 1983 and died in 2018; Gates stepped down from the company's board in 2020, got divorced and appeared in the Epstein files – their forward-thinking remains the backbone of the multi-national technology company.
    J. Kyle Foster, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • There were gut strings, then metallic strings.
    Tim Parks, New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2026
  • The symptoms seemed so disparate, like distinct mugshots neatly pinned to an evidence board without any bold red strings or furious circles to show connection.
    Courtney Crowder, USA Today, 10 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • The trains will circulate through the airport’s central terminal area, linking terminals with parking facilities and pick-up and drop-off zones.
    City News Service, Daily News, 16 Apr. 2026
  • From the whistle of a locomotive to the rumble of steel on steel, the trains of Chicago and the Midwest are more than a mode of transportation, given that Chicago has been America’s railroad capital for more than 150 years.
    Philip Potempa, Chicago Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Columns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/columns. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.

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