/ ˈkɒləm; NAmE ˈkɑːləm/ noun
1.
a tall, solid, vertical post, usually round and made of stone, which supports or decorates a building or stands alone as a monument :
The temple is supported by marble columns.
Nelson's Column in London
2.
a thing shaped like a column :
a column of smoke (= smoke rising straight up)
—see also spinal column , steering column
3.
( abbr. col. ) one of the vertical sections into which the printed page of a book, newspaper, etc. is divided :
a column of text
a dictionary with two columns per page
Put a mark in the appropriate column.
Their divorce filled a lot of column inches in the national papers (= got a lot of attention) .
4.
a part of a newspaper or magazine which appears regularly and deals with a particular subject or is written by a particular writer :
the gossip / financial column
I always read her column in the local paper.
—see also agony column , personal column
5.
a series of numbers or words arranged one under the other down a page :
to add up a column of figures
6.
a long, moving line of people or vehicles :
a long column of troops and tanks
—see also fifth column
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : partly from Old French columpne , reinforced by its source, Latin columna pillar.