Words / B2

KOL-uh-m/ˈkɒləm/

A column is a regular newspaper or magazine article: an opinion column, a weekly column. Article is wider; editorial is the paper’s official view. Column is also a tall supporting post, or a vertical list in a table (add the numbers in the column). Columnist is the writer. In speech, a regular article / a pillar / a list down the page covers the three senses. Keep them apart: do not write “a column of the building” when you mean an opinion piece.

Meaning

A regular article in a newspaper; also a tall post that supports a building, or a vertical list.

Examples

• “She writes a weekly column on education.”
• “Her Saturday column is about housing, not celebrity gossip.”
• “The figures in the right-hand column are percentages, not raw counts.”

Good to know

A regular newspaper article; also a pillar, or a vertical list. Writer: columnist. Keep the three senses apart.

Near in meaning

article

New