colon
- 1A punctuation mark of two dots placed one above the other (:), used before a list or an explanation.
Like a small sign that means "here comes more."
Add a colon after the heading and then list the items.
She placed a colon before the long quotation.
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- 2The main part of the large intestine, which takes water from waste before it passes out of the body.
Like the last stretch of a tube that squeezes water out of food waste.
Doctors check the colon for early signs of cancer.
Eating enough fiber helps keep your colon healthy.
Similarbowel
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- 3USkuh-LOHN/kəˈloʊn/UKkuh-LON/kəˈlɒn/A person from Europe who settled in a colony, especially a French one.
Like a family that moves to a brand-new land and claims ground to live on.
Each colon received a plot of farmland from the colonial government.
The colons resented any policy that favored the local population.
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- 4A part of a sentence that sounds finished by its grammar but does not finish the idea.
A skilled speaker can join several colons into one smooth sentence.
Each colon feels complete on its own, yet the full thought still needs more.
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- 5In old handwritten texts, a line of writing used as a unit to measure how long the work is.
Like one line on a page used to count how long a book is.
Scribes copied the poem one colon at a time.
Scholars counted the colons to measure the length of the manuscript.
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Less common meanings
- 6A triangle-shaped version of the two-dot mark, often typed as a normal colon when the true symbol is unavailable.
Like writing a plain letter when your keyboard cannot make a fancier one.
She typed a colon to stand in for the triangle-shaped mark.
The font lacked the real symbol, so a colon was used instead.
- 7USkuh-LOHN/kəˈloʊn/UKkuh-LON/kəˈlɒn/A farmer who works the land to grow crops.
Like a farmer who spends all day growing food in the fields.
Every colon in the village rose before dawn to work the fields.
The colon planted his wheat as soon as the frost cleared.
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Practice
Can you tell the meanings of colon apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origins
From Latin cōlon, meaning a part of a verse, which came from Greek kôlon, meaning a limb or clause.
From Latin colon, meaning the large intestine, which came from Greek kólon.
From French colon.