column

/ˈkɑləm/

/ˈkɒləm/

Other forms: columns

Someone who writes a column for a newspaper provides an article that expresses his or her viewpoint on a regular basis, such as a column about local politics which appears in the Sunday edition.

If your boss says, “I’m going to give you a column!” you may be getting a regular writing gig, or you may be getting a large pillar typically used to support a building. (You’ll know which it is when you see it.)Column also refers to something that resembles a pillar or stack, such as a column of smoke, or columns of numbers that must be added. Column also describes lines of text that form long rectangles on a page, separated by a thin line of space.

Definitions of column

1. noun

   a line of units following one after another
   type of:

   Indian file, file, single file

   a line of persons or things ranged one behind the other
2. noun

   a vertical array of numbers or other information
   “he added a column of numbers”

   type of:

   array

   an orderly arrangement
3. noun

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

   types:

   obelisk

   a stone pillar having a rectangular cross section tapering towards a pyramidal top

   totem pole

   a tribal emblem consisting of a pillar carved and painted with totemic figures; erected by Indian tribes of the northwest Pacific coast

   type of:

   construction, structure

   a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts
4. noun

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

   types:

   atlas, telamon

   a figure of a man used as a supporting column

   caryatid

   a supporting column carved in the shape of a person

   newel

   the central pillar of a circular staircase

   pilaster

   a rectangular column that usually projects about a third of its width from the wall to which it is attached

   pile, piling, spile, stilt

   a column of wood or steel or concrete that is driven into the ground to provide support for a structure

   support column

   a column that supports a heavy weight

   lally, lally column

   support column consisting of a steel cylinder filled with concrete

   sheath pile, sheet pile, sheet piling

   a pile in a row of piles driven side by side to retain earth or prevent seepage

   type of:

   upright, vertical

   a vertical structural member as a post or stake
5. noun

   anything that approximates the shape of a column or tower
   “the test tube held a column of white powder”

   synonyms: pillar, tower

   types:

   columella

   a small column (or structure resembling a column) that is a part of a plant or animal

   hoodoo

   (geology) a column of weathered and unusually shaped rock

   type of:

   form, shape

   the spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance
6. noun

   any tubular or pillar-like supporting structure in the body
   type of:

   skeletal structure

   any structure created by the skeleton of an organism
7. noun

   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”

   type of:

   text, textual matter

   the words of something written
8. noun

   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
   synonyms: chromatography column

   type of:

   tube, tubing

   conduit consisting of a long hollow object (usually cylindrical) used to hold and conduct objects or liquids or gases
9. noun

   an article giving opinions or perspectives
   synonyms: editorial, newspaper column

   types:

   agony column

   a newspaper column devoted to personal problems

   type of:

   article

   nonfictional prose forming an independent part of a publication