1 Archit. an upright cylindrical pillar often slightly tapering and usu. supporting an entablature or arch, or standing alone as a monument.
2 a structure or part shaped like a column.
3 a vertical cylindrical mass of liquid or vapour.
4 a a vertical division of a page, chart, etc., containing a sequence of figures or words. b the figures or words themselves.
5 a part of a newspaper regularly devoted to a particular subject (gossip column).
6 a Mil. an arrangement of troops in successive lines, with a narrow front. b Naut. a similar arrangement of ships.
Phrases and idioms:
column-inch a quantity of print (esp. newsprint) occupying a one-inch length of a column. dodge the column colloq. shirk one's duty; avoid work.
Derivatives:
columnar adj. columned adj.
Etymology: ME f. OF columpne & L columna pillar
Useful english dictionary. 2012.