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columns

noun

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 Several readers have spoken of appreciation for the columns of mine that intersected sports and society, such as excoriating the NFL for its blackballing of Colin Kaepernick. — Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2026 The structural system, meanwhile, is based on point supports, which means the building loads are transferred through columns that can be spaced relatively far apart. — New Atlas, 25 Sep. 2026 Dismissing stark right angles, the Johnstons sought a warmer contemporary aesthetic—one defined by fluid, organic curves that appear in the cedar roofs, columns, and courtyard wall. — Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 24 Sep. 2026 Decorative brick columns will be constructed at the end of the fences and brick paving will be placed between the road’s concrete barrier and the sidewalk. — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 23 Sep. 2026 The Greek columns on its facade, south of downtown on the corner of Holman and Austin Streets, proclaimed the stability— the unimpeachable correctness—of one of the city’s most enduring institutions. — Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026 But the columns are much too perpendicular to the stylobate for that. — Emma Gometz, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2026 Flames and huge columns of black smoke rose from the city's outskirts, and a facility at an oil refinery was also damaged. — Sam Meredith, CNBC, 21 Sep. 2026 The restaurant itself is spectacular, featuring a water fountain at its center and original Roman columns. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for columns
  1. rows
  2. pilasters
  3. lines
  4. pillars
  5. queues
  6. files
  7. strings
  8. trains
Noun
  • In each bus, the seats were ripped out and replaced with two rows of bunk beds that sleep up to 42 people a night.
    — Michael Cuglietta, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Facilities grew outward, spreading across vast acreage to house rows of standard x86 servers.
    — Kevin Brown, Forbes.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of rows
Noun
  • The small saints on side pilasters were sold off on the antiques market.
    — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Even now, its fins and pilasters adorn plenty of new construction, and in real-estate-speak, the phrase is code for high class.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 8 June 2026
Definition of pilasters
Noun
  • Soon after the mother and daughter took over the kitchen, lines began forming inside the supermarket.
    — Laura Rodríguez Presa, Chicago Tribune, 26 Sep. 2026
  • One of Andie’s most powerful lines happens at the end of the film and encapsulates the corrosive nature of the Predator machine.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of lines
Noun
  • Cage solved my next problem by insisting that the way to discover new things is to overcome our dependence on our likes and dislikes, those supposed pillars of criticism.
    — Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Today, the offering is broken down into three pillars in men’s as well as a women’s division, Cater explained.
    — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of pillars
Noun
  • The smooth journeys contrasted with the train queues at Zandvoort last month and the long wait for taxis to leave the Hungaroring in July.
    — Luke Smith, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • In a wartorn country where air travel is too perilous to even consider, the roads are the obvious option, but are jammed, precarious, and cursed with long, torturous border queues.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of queues
Noun
  • Wilhelm testified the files were related to Flynn's relationship with Botner and matched lyrics investigators found saved in the phone's notes app.
    — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The administration said the Department of Homeland Security can respond to more than 1 million requests per day to check if a person appears to be a citizen or not based on Social Security records and other data files.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of files
Noun
  • To avoid ambiguities, none of the 23-bit strings can be too similar to any other.
    — Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2026
  • There were live strings by a quartet from the New York Philharmonic.
    — Vogue, Vogue, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of strings
Noun
  • Producer prices on diesel, a critical fuel that powers trucks, tractors and trains, surged by 78% in August, according to the BLS.
    — Matt Egan, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2026
  • An August report by Ukrainska Pravda also highlighted a new railway construction capable of handling military trains in Belarus' Gomel Oblast near the Ukraine border.
    — Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of trains

Browse Nearby Words

columnists
columns
coma
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Columns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/columns. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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