Vocabulary     

What does column mean?

Definitions for column
ˈkɒl əmcol·umn

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word column.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. columnnoun

    a line of units following one after another

  2. column, chromatography columnnoun

    a vertical glass tube used in column chromatography; a mixture is poured in the top and washed through a stationary substance where components of the mixture are adsorbed selectively to form colored bands

  3. columnnoun

    a vertical array of numbers or other information

    "he added a column of numbers"

  4. column, tower, pillarnoun

    anything that approximates the shape of a column or tower

    "the test tube held a column of white powder"; "a tower of dust rose above the horizon"; "a thin pillar of smoke betrayed their campsite"

  5. column, editorial, newspaper columnnoun

    an article giving opinions or perspectives

  6. column, pillarnoun

    a vertical cylindrical structure standing alone and not supporting anything (such as a monument)

  7. column, pillarnoun

    (architecture) a tall vertical cylindrical structure standing upright and used to support a structure

  8. columnnoun

    a page or text that is vertically divided

    "the newspaper devoted several columns to the subject"; "the bookkeeper used pages that were divided into columns"

  9. columnnoun

    any tubular or pillar-like supporting structure in the body

GCIDE

  1. Columnnoun

    (Print.) one of a series of articles written in a periodical, usually under the same title and at regular intervals; it may be written and signed by one or more authors, or may appear pseudonymously or anonymously, as an editorial column.

Wiktionary

  1. columnnoun

    A solid upright structure designed usually to support a larger structure above it, such as a roof or horizontal beam, but sometimes for decoration.

  2. columnnoun

    A vertical line of entries in a table, usually read from top to bottom.

  3. columnnoun

    A body of troops or army vehicles, usually strung out along a road.

  4. columnnoun

    A body of text meant to be read line by line, especially in printed material that has multiple adjacent such on a single page.

    It was too hard to read the text across the whole page, so I split it into two columns.

  5. columnnoun

    A recurring feature in a periodical, especially an opinion piece, especially by a single author or small rotating group of authors, or on a single theme.

    His initial foray into print media was as the author of a weekly column in his elementary-school newspaper.

  6. columnnoun

    Something having similar vertical form or structure to the things mentioned above, such as a spinal column.

  7. Etymology: From columne, which from columna, originally a collateral form of columen, contraction culmen, o-grade form from a. Akin to collis, celsus, probably to κολοφών.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. COLUMNnoun

    Etymology: columna, Latin.

    Some of the old Greek columns, and altars were brought from the ruins of Apollo’s temple at Delos. Henry Peacham.

    Round broken columns clasping ivy twin’d. Alexander Pope.

    The whole weight of any column of the atmosphere, and likewise the specifick gravity of its bases, are certainly known by many experiments. Richard Bentley, Sermons.

ChatGPT

  1. column

    A column is a vertical division of a structure, data set, building, text or page layout. Its meaning typically varies based on the context. For example, it can refer to a structural element in architecture supporting a building, a vertical set of cells in a spreadsheet or database, or a recurring piece of writing in newspapers or magazines by a particular journalist or author.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Columnnoun

    a kind of pillar; a cylindrical or polygonal support for a roof, ceiling, statue, etc., somewhat ornamented, and usually composed of base, shaft, and capital. See Order

  2. Columnnoun

    anything resembling, in form or position, a column in architecture; an upright body or mass; a shaft or obelisk; as, a column of air, of water, of mercury, etc.; the Column Vendome; the spinal column

  3. Columnnoun

    a body of troops formed in ranks, one behind the other; -- contradistinguished from line. Compare Ploy, and Deploy

  4. Columnnoun

    a small army

  5. Columnnoun

    a number of ships so arranged as to follow one another in single or double file or in squadrons; -- in distinction from "line", where they are side by side

  6. Columnnoun

    a perpendicular set of lines, not extending across the page, and separated from other matter by a rule or blank space; as, a column in a newspaper

  7. Columnnoun

    a perpendicular line of figures

  8. Columnnoun

    the body formed by the union of the stamens in the Mallow family, or of the stamens and pistil in the orchids

  9. Etymology: [L. columna, fr. columen, culmen, fr. cellere (used only in comp.), akin to E. excel, and prob. to holm. See Holm, and cf. Colonel.]

Wikidata

  1. Column

    Column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below, in other words a column is a compression member. The term column applies especially to a large round support with a capital and base and made of stone, or appearing to be so. A small wooden or metal support is typically called a post, and supports with a rectangular or other non-round section are usually called piers. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces. Other compression members are often termed "columns" because of the similar stress conditions. Columns are frequently used to support beams or arches on which the upper parts of walls or ceilings rest. In architecture, "column" refers to such a structural element that also has certain proportional and decorative features. A column might also be a decorative element not needed for structural purposes; many columns are "engaged", that is to say form part of a wall.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Column

    kol′um, n. a long, round body, used to support or adorn a building: any upright body or mass like a column: a body of troops drawn up in deep files: a perpendicular row of lines in a book.—ns. Col′ūmel, a small column; Colūmel′la, the central axis of a spiral univalve; the auditory ossicle of the amphibian ear: the central axis of the spore-case of mosses: in the opening of fruits, what remains in the centre after the carpels have split away.—adjs. Colum′nal, Colum′nar, formed in columns.—n. Columna′rity.—adjs. Col′umned, Colum′niāted, Colum′nated, having columns.—n. Colum′niātion. [L. columen, columna, akin to celsus, high; Gr. kolōnē, a hill.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. column

    A body of troops in deep files and narrow front, so disposed as to move in regular succession.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. column

    Signifies, in military evolutions, a mass of soldiers several ranks in depth as opposed to line. There may be columns of brigades, of regiments, of divisions, or of companies, presenting a front of limited width, but a depth depending on the number of elements in the column. In a battalion the formation is called open column when the distance between the elements of the column is such as to admit of their wheeling into line; when the distance is only a few yards it is termed close column; when intermediate between these two, it is “column at half distance.” Battalions are drawn up in column with either the right or left in front, or the battalions may be doubled upon their centres. To pass from column into line is to “deploy”; to pass from line to column is to “ploy.” Sometimes the name column is given to a small army, especially when engaged in active operations. In drawing up troops for action, as a general rule, the French prefer the column, the Americans and English the formation in line.

Editors Contribution

  1. column

    A type of structure to support.

    The hotel has tall columns at the foyer of the hotel.


    Submitted by MaryC on March 28, 2020  

  2. column

    A type of structure within a piece of software.

    The column of the spreadsheet was aligned with the rows.


    Submitted by MaryC on March 28, 2020  

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'column' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3446

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'column' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4181

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'column' in Nouns Frequency: #1027

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce column?

How to say column in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of column in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of column in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of column in a Sentence

  1. Kenneth Nail:

    Nikki Haley announced. Since then, at least 60 public Confederate symbols have been removed since the 2015 church shooting, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Most recently, the city of St. Louis, Mo., removed a Confedearte monument -- a 32-foot-tall granite column with a bronze sculpture -- from a park. Complicating the debate for those opposed to these moves is the involvement of hate groups like the KKK. The group is planning a rally for July 8 following a decision by the city council in Charlottesville, Va., to remove a statue of Gen. Lee Park and rename Lee Park. Meanwhile, in April, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu ordered the removal of multiple Confederate statues. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu received brutal backlash and was forced to have heavy police presence in place when the nighttime removals began. Despite threats that people would boycott New Orleans, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu did not back down. These statues are not just stone and metal, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said in a highly lauded speech after the last Confederate statue had been taken down. They are not just innocent remembrances of a benign history. These monuments purposefully celebrate a fictional, sanitized Confederacy ; ignoring the death, ignoring the enslavement and the terror that it actually stood for. But to others, like Kenneth Nail Nail, it’s not about oppression. To us, it’s not a hate thing. It’s a heritage thing and what we like to do is celebrate everyone's struggles : the blacks, the whites, the north and south.

  2. Randall Irmis:

    The Chaares Formation contains tuffs, or volcanic ashes, that can be dated with great accuracy, so in this basin, not only are there many high-quality, complete fossils that allow us to easily identify taxa, but there are also tuffs in between that allow us to date the entire column.

  3. Colonel Sani Usman:

    The leading column was ambushed by suspected Boko Haram terrorists at Faljari village between Mafa and Dikwa.

  4. Daniel Palma:

    I was shocked. I had just arrived home when I looked through the window and saw the column of smoke rising up. We called our families, posted photos, we woke up today with a blanket of fog and it hasn't cleared. We have a layer of smoke above us.

  5. Robertson Davies:

    He types his labored column -- weary drudge! Senile fudge and solemn: spare, editor, to condemn these dry leaves of his autumn.

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Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for column

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"column." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 7 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/column>.

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