column (n.)

  1. a line of units following one after another

  2. 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

    [ Syn: chromatography column ]

  3. a vertical array of numbers or other information; he added a column of numbers'

  4. anything that approximates the shape of a column or tower; the test tube held a column of white powder; a tower of dust rose above the horizon; a thin pillar of smoke betrayed their campsite

    [ Syn: tower , pillar ]

  5. an article giving opinions or perspectives

    [ Syn: editorial , newspaper column ]

  6. a vertical cylindrical structure standing alone and not supporting anything (such as a monument)

    [ Syn: pillar ]

  7. (architecture) a tall vertical cylindrical structure standing upright and used to support a structure

    [ Syn: pillar ]

  8. 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'

  9. any tubular or pillar-like supporting structure in the body

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.