What does column mean?
Word: Column
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Column means a tall, upright post, often made of stone, that holds up part of a building. It can also mean a line of words or numbers set one below another on a page.
Synonyms: post
How do you spell column?
Syllables: col - umn
Tricky part: The n at the end is silent, so children hear only the m and stop there: colum.
Watch out for: colume, coloum, colomn
Memory tip: Picture the silent n standing at the end of the word like a guard beside a stone column: you cannot hear it, but it is always on duty.
Column in a sentence
Example 1: The old fort has stone columns at its gate.
Example 2: Write the answers in the second column of the table.
Example 3: Each column in the newspaper had a different story.
Fun Fact
Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London, is about 52 metres tall, with a statue of Admiral Nelson at the top.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) libary
b) hieght
c) column
d) bycycle
Show answer
c) column. Bicycle starts with bi, library has an r after the b, and height has e before i.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word:
column
a) roof
b) pillar
c) floor
d) window
Show answer
b) pillar. A pillar is a tall post that holds up a roof, which is what a column is.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
lunmoc
a) coulmn
b) cuolmn
c) column
d) cloumn
Show answer
c) column. Only one choice puts the two vowels where you hear them.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
collumn
a) m
b) u
c) n
d) l
Show answer
d) l. Column has one l, so one of the pair must go.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Where would you most likely see tall stone columns?
a) at the front of an old palace
b) inside a school pencil box
c) at the bottom of a fish tank
d) on the roof of a small car
Show answer
a) at the front of an old palace
2. Mr Rao writes a weekly column in the newspaper. What does he write?
a) the headline on page one
b) a short article each week
c) the list of shop prices
d) the weather map each day
Show answer
b) a short article each week
