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colon

noun

Simple meaning

A punctuation mark used after a word introducing a series or an example or an explanation.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kohluhn

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈkoʊlən

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A punctuation mark (:) used after a word introducing a series or an example or an explanation (or after the salutation of a business letter)

  2. A European colonial settler, especially in a French colony.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A punctuation mark (:) used after a word introducing a series or an example or an explanation (or after the salutation of a business letter)

Used this way, colon is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in business or professional contexts.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Where it naturally appears

  • Business/professional

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Punctuation

sigmoid colon

Port

colon rectum

Other combinations

colon cancerdescending colonascending colondis colonhuman colonright colon

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • colonynounDerived noun · specialist

    A body of people who settle far from home but maintain ties with their homeland.

  • colonicnounDerived noun

    A water enema given to flush out the colon.

  • colonialadjectiveDerived adjective

    Related to A punctuation mark (:) used after a word introducing a series or an example or an explanation (or after the salutation of a business letter).

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • colon cancernounCompound term

    A malignant tumor of the colon.

  • sigmoid colonnounCompound term

    The s-shaped curve between the descending colon and the rectum.

  • spastic colonnounCompound term

    Recurrent abdominal pain and diarrhea (often alternating with periods of constipation).

  • ascending colonnounCompound term

    The part of the large intestine that ascends from the cecum to the transverse colon.

  • transverse colonnounCompound term

    The part of the large intestine that extends across the abdominal cavity and joins the ascending to the descending colon.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • colonoscopynounRelated term

    Visual examination of the colon (with a colonoscope) from the cecum to the rectum.

  • colonic irrigationnounRelated term

    A water enema given to flush out the colon.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.