Definition of colon Colon

/kowˈlʌn/ - [kowlun] - co•lon

We found 15 definitions of colon from 7 different sources.

What does colon mean?

WordNet

Noun Plural: colons
colon - the part of the large intestine between the cecum and the rectum; it extracts moisture from food residues before they are excreted
		large intestine beginning with the cecum and ending with the rectum; includes the cecum and the colon and the rectum; extracts moisture from food residues which are later excreted as feces
		sigmoid vein, vena sigmoideus tributaries of the inferior mesenteric vein; drains the sigmoid colon
		megacolon an abnormal enlargement of the colon; can be congenital (as in Hirschsprung's disease) or acquired (as when children refuse to defecate)
		transverse colon the part of the large intestine that extends across the abdominal cavity and joins the ascending to the descending colon
		ascending colon the part of the large intestine that ascends from the cecum to the transverse colon
		descending colon the part of the large intestine that descends from the transverse colon to the sigmoid colon
colon - a port city at the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal
		Aspinwall
colon - a punctuation mark (:) used after a word introducing a series or an example or an explanation (or after the salutation of a business letter)

= synonym
= antonym
= related word

Wiktionary

colon (Noun)
The triangular colon especially in context of not being able to type the actual triangular colon.
colon (Noun)
A rhetorical figure consisting of a clause which is grammatically, but not logically, complete.
colon (Noun)
Part of the large intestine ; the final segment of the digestive system, after distal to the ileum and before proximal to the anus.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

colon (n.)
That part of the large intestines which extends from the caecum to the rectum. [See Illust of Digestion.]
colon (n.)
A point or character, formed thus [:], used to separate parts of a sentence that are complete in themselves and nearly independent, often taking the place of a conjunction.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

colon
The long, coiled, tubelike organ that removes water from digested food.
colon
A punctuation mark (:) used after a word introducing a series or an example or an explanation.

Chambers DictionaryChamber's 20th Century Dictionary 📕

colon
kō′lon, n. the mark (:) used to indicate a distinct member or clause of a sentence. [Gr. kōlon, a limb, member.]
colon
kō′lon, n. that portion of the large intestine which extends from the cæcum to the rectum, which is the terminal portion of the intestinal canal.—n. Colonī′tis, inflammation of the colon. [L.,—Gr. kolon, the large intestine.]

Wikipedia

The colon is a part of the large intestine. It is between cecum and the rectum. The colon takes water from the feces that goes through it.
punctuation
The colon (":") is a punctuation mark, visually consisting of two equally sized dots centered on the same vertical line.

Usage.

As with many other punctuation marks, the usage of colon varies among languages and, for a given language, among historical periods. As a rule, however, a colon informs the reader that what follows proves, clarifies, explains, or simply enumerates elements of what is referred to before.

This last was once a common means of indicating an unmarked quotation on the same line (from the Fowlers' grammar book, "The King's English")

In English, a colon may be followed either by a capital letter or by a lower case letter, depending on usage: where speech follows, a capital letter is used; where an acronym or proper noun follows, a capital is used; otherwise a lower case letter is used.

Conventions and non-English languages.

In European languages the colon is usually followed by a lowercase letter (again, unless the uppercase is due to other reasons, such as a proper noun). Exceptions are Dutch and German, where an uppercase letter must be used if the colon is followed by a complete sentence or a noun, although in all other cases a lowercase letter should be used.

No space is put before a colon, except in French.

Other uses.

In Finnish and Swedish, the colon can appear inside words in a manner similar to the English apostrophe, between a word (or abbreviation, especially an acronym) and its grammatical (mostly genitive) suffixes. It occurs in names, for examp

Part of speech

🔤

colon, noun, singular of colons.

Pronunciation

Word frequency

Colon is...

Very rare

Rare

Normal

Common

Very Common

Rare

Normal

Common

Sign Language

colon in sign language