Dictionary  col•umnPronunciation: (kol'um), [key] —n. 1. Archit. a. a rigid, relatively slender, upright support, composed of relatively few pieces. b. a decorative pillar, most often composed of stone and typically having a cylindrical or polygonal shaft with a capital and usually a base. 2. any columnlike object, mass, or formation: a column of smoke. 3. a vertical row or list: Add this column of figures. 4. a vertical arrangement on a page of horizontal lines of type, usually typographically justified: There are three columns on this page. 5. a regular feature or series of articles in a newspaper, magazine, or the like, usually having a readily identifiable heading and the byline of the writer or editor, that reports or comments upon a particular field of interest, as politics, theater, or etiquette, or which may contain letters from readers, answers to readers' queries, etc. 6. a long, narrow formation of troops in which there are more members in line in the direction of movement than at right angles to the direction (distinguished from line). 7. a formation of ships in single file. 8. Bot.a columnlike structure in an orchid flower, composed of the united stamens and style. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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