colony

SayKOL-uh-neeAUS/ˈkɔl.ə.ni/UK/ˈkɒl.ə.ni/

10 meanings of colony

1
nouncountable
A land that another country rules and fills with its own people.
Like a branch of a family that lives far away but still follows the rules of the main household.
Australia began as a British colony.
The colony grew quickly as more families arrived from Europe.
Similardependency, territory, possession, dominion
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2
nouncountable
A group of animals or other living things that live close together as one group.
Like a big group of neighbors who all live together and help each other.
A colony of ants worked together to carry food.
Penguins gather in a huge colony along the shore.
Similarcommunity, hive
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3
nouncountable
A group of people who move to a new land but keep ties to their home country.
Like a group of people who move to a new town but still call their old town home.
The colony sent letters back home asking for more supplies.
A small colony of farmers built the first village by the river.
Similarsettlement, outpost
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4
nouncountable
A group of people from the same country or background who live together in a foreign place.
Like a little piece of one country living inside another.
There is a small Korean colony near the university.
The British colony in the port town kept its own customs.
Similarcommunity, enclave, quarter
5
nouncountable
A group of tiny cells, like bacteria, that grow together from one starting cell.
Like a small spot of mold that all grew from one tiny seed.
The scientist counted each colony growing in the dish.
A single colony of bacteria can hold millions of cells.
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6
nouncountable
A group of people with the same job or interest who live together in one place.
Like a club where everyone shares the same hobby and lives nearby.
The artists' colony by the sea drew painters from everywhere.
Writers set up a colony in the quiet mountain town.
Similarcommunity, commune, enclave
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7
nounIndiacountable
A group of houses or apartments that make up one neighborhood.
Like a small, fenced-in group of homes that share the same streets and gate.
They live in a quiet colony near the school.
Our colony has a small park and a temple.
Similarestate, development, complex, neighborhood
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8
nouncountable
A new fraternity or sorority group waiting to become an official chapter.
Like a team that plays in practice games before joining the real league.
The colony hopes to become a full chapter next year.
Students started a new colony on campus this fall.
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9
nouncountable
A local group of the youngest Scouts, called Beavers.
Like the smallest, youngest class in a big school.
The colony meets every Tuesday at the church hall.
Each colony is led by trained adult volunteers.

Less common meaning

10
verbobsoletetransitive
To take control of a new land and settle people there.
Like planting a garden far from home and making the land your own.
The settlers planned to colony the new island.
Such black Attendants Colonied thy Cell, / But for thy Preſence, Car’sbrook had been Hell.
1649, [John Cleveland], “A Deep Groan, Fetch’d at the Funerall of That Incomparable and Glorious Monarch,”Here, Colonied means settled in and took over, like people settling a land.
Note

Practice

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Origin

From Latin colonia, from colonus meaning "farmer" or "colonist," which came from colo, "to till or cultivate."