colon

B2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈkoʊ.lən/ UK /ˈkəʊ.lən/ See IPA manual

Freq #13557

Meanings

1

noun
The punctuation mark ( : ), used before a list, example, or explanation.

Use a colon to introduce the items in your list.
2

noun
The main part of the large intestine, where the body absorbs water from waste.

The doctor scheduled a test to check his colon.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms colons

Derived forms colon-pointdicolonsemicolontricolon

Related forms apostrophe brace bracket comma dash ellipsis guillemet hyphen interpunctinterrobangperiod semicolon

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

transverse colon
the section of the large intestine that crosses the abdomen

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Latin cōlon (“a member of a verse of poem”), from Ancient Greek κῶλον (kôlon, “a member, limb, clause, part of a verse”).

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# colon

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkoʊ.lən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkəʊ.lən/
**Frequency rank:** 13557

## Meanings
1. The punctuation mark ( : ), used before a list, example, or explanation.
2. The main part of the large intestine, where the body absorbs water from waste.

## Examples
- Use a colon to introduce the items in your list.
- The doctor scheduled a test to check his colon.

## Derived Forms
- colon-point
- dicolon
- semicolon
- tricolon

## Related Forms
- apostrophe
- brace
- bracket
- comma
- dash
- ellipsis
- guillemet
- hyphen
- interpunct
- interrobang
- period
- semicolon

## Etymology
From Latin cōlon (“a member of a verse of poem”), from Ancient Greek κῶλον (kôlon, “a member, limb, clause, part of a verse”).

## AI Etymology
colon is a noun. It is from Latin cōlon (“a member of a verse of poem”), from Ancient Greek κῶλον (kôlon, “a member, limb, clause, part of a verse”). Current senses include the punctuation mark ( : ), used before a list, example, or explanation and the main part of the large intestine, where the body absorbs water from waste. Derived forms include colon-point, dicolon, semicolon, and tricolon. Related words include apostrophe, brace, bracket, and comma.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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