column
/ˈkɒləm/
Frequency: 4.33 in modern English
Meaning
noun
A solid upright structure designed usually to support a larger structure above it, such as a roof or horizontal beam, but sometimes for decoration.
noun
A vertical line of entries in a table, usually read from top to bottom.
noun
A body of text meant to be read line by line, especially in printed material that has multiple adjacent such on a single page.
noun
A unit of width, especially of advertisements, in a periodical, equivalent to the width of a usual column of text.
noun
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.
noun
Something having similar vertical form or structure to the things mentioned above, such as a spinal column.
noun
The gynostemium.
Example Sentences
- "It was too hard to read the text across the whole page, so I split it into two columns."
- "Each column inch costs $300 a week; this ad is four columns by three inches, so will run $3600 a week."
- "His initial foray into print media was as the author of a weekly column in his elementary-school newspaper."
- "I have always argued that despite my opposition to rail privatisation, I should be grateful that John Major won the 1992 election on a platform to sell off the railways, as otherwise my column would have disappeared given the paucity of things to write about."
- "The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom. Whirling wreaths and columns of burning wind, rushed around and over them."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *kelH-, columne, columna
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /ˈkɒləm/