column
noun
Simple meaning
A page or text that is vertically divided.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kahluhmSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɑləm
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A vertical line of entries in a table, usually read from top to bottom.
A body of text meant to be read line by line, especially in printed material that has multiple adjacent such on a single page.
A page or text that is vertically divided
“The newspaper devoted several columns to the subject.”
by extension
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.
A unit of width, especially of advertisements, in a periodical, equivalent to the width of a usual column of text.
Something having similar vertical form or structure to the things mentioned above, such as a spinal column.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A vertical line of entries in a table, usually read from top to bottom.
Used this way, column is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use column
- “The newspaper devoted several columns to the subject.”noun
- “He added a column of numbers.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A journalist who writes editorials.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A unit of measurement for advertising space.
Chromatography that uses selective adsorption by a column of powders.
A subversive group that supports the enemy and engages in espionage or sabotage.
Support column consisting of a steel cylinder filled with concrete.
An article giving opinions or perspectives.
The series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
An epithelial cell that is shaped like a column.
An epithelial cell that is shaped like a column.
A journalist who writes a column of gossip about celebrities.
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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.