A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is an structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces. Other compression members are often termed "columns" because of the similar stress conditions. Columns are frequently used to support beams or arches on which the upper parts of walls or ceilings rest. In architecture, "column" refers to such a structural element that also has certain proportional and decorative features. A column might also be a decorative element not needed for structural purposes; many columns are "engaged with", that is to say form part of a wall.

Noun

column (plural columns)

1. A solid upright structure designed usually to support a larger structure above it, such as a roof or horizontal beam, but sometimes for decoration.
2. A vertical line of entries in a table, usually read from top to bottom: as opposed to a row (which is horizontal).
3. A body of troops or army vehicles, usually strung out along a road.
4. A body of text meant to be read line by line, especially in printed material that has multiple adjacent such on a single page.

   It was too hard to read the text across the whole page, so I split it into two columns.

5. The same, as a unit of width in a periodical, especially for advertisements.

   Each column inch costs $300 a week; this ad is four columns by three inches, so will run $3600 a week.

6. (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.

   His initial foray into print media was as the author of a weekly column in his elementary-school newspaper.

7. Something having similar vertical form or structure to the things mentioned above, such as a spinal column.

Antonyms

• row

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