an upright shaft or structure, of stone, brick, or other material, relatively slender in proportion to its height, and of any shape in section, used as a building support, or standing alone, as for a monument: Gothic pillars; a pillar to commemorate Columbus.
a natural formation resembling such a construction: a pillar of rock; a pillar of smoke.
any upright, supporting part; post: the pillar of a table.
a person who is a chief supporter of a society, state, institution, etc.: a pillar of the community.
Horology. any of several short parts for spacing and keeping in the proper relative positions two plates holding the bearings of a watch or clock movement.
Mining. an isolated mass of rock or ore in a mine, usually serving as a roof support in early operations and later removed, wholly or in part.
Nautical. mast1 (def. 2).
verb (used with object)
to provide or support with pillars.
Idioms for pillar
from pillar to post,
aimlessly from place to place.
uneasily from one bad situation or predicament to another.
Origin of pillar
1175–1225; Middle English pillare<Medieval Latin pīlāre (see pile1, -ar2); replacing earlier piler<Old French <Medieval Latin, as above
One of the main pillars in our attempt to keep numbers low was intense contact tracing.
The inside story of Germany’s coordinated covid response|Tate Ryan-Mosley|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Einstein built general relativity on some pillars called Einstein’s principles.
The Physicist Who Slayed Gravity’s Ghosts|Thomas Lewton|August 18, 2020|Quanta Magazine
This latter pillar has been eroding over the years, with the last independent poll conducted in 2016 showing only 30% support for the president.
Belarus Election: Contested Result Sparks Massive Unrest As Europe’s ‘Last Dictator’ Claims Victory|LGBTQ-Editor|August 12, 2020|No Straight News
Ortiz and HKS cantilevered the decks at Globe Life Field to produce more overhang than in the retro parks but without the obstructive steel pillars of the jewel box parks.
MLB’s Newest Ballpark Is A Shift Away From Retro-Era Stadiums|Travis Sawchik|July 16, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
The clustered content links back to the pillar page, lifting the authority of the pillar page which highlights its importance.
10 Advanced SEO tactics to drive more traffic to your website|Christian Carere|June 8, 2020|Search Engine Watch
In another generation, it will be useless, leading visitors straight into a pillar.
Silicon Valley Mansions, Swallowed Alive|Geoff Manaugh|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yet over the course of this season, Sansa has become a pillar of strong womanhood.
Valar Morghulis: Game of Thrones’ Women Are Going to Rule the World|Scott Bixby|June 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I live just 45 minutes from my childhood home, so I am hardly the pillar of independence.
Marlo Thomas Says Girls Should Feel Free to Be Like Hannah Horvath|Emily Shire|April 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Jackson is, contrary to this off-field image people have cultivated for him, a pillar of the community.
The Philadelphia Eagles’ Race Problem: The Curious Case of DeSean Jackson and Riley Cooper|Marlow Stern|March 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But as Pillar noted, these groups “still want coverage by the mainstream media in order to realize their publicity goals.”
Media Coverage of Olympic Terror Threats Shines Spotlight on Wrong Players|Dean Obeidallah|February 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In Saugor the marriage-post is often a four-sided wooden frame or a pillar with four pieces of wood suspended from it.
The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India - Volume IV of IV|R.V. Russell
I had always figured the inside of the Pillar House as full of treasures, for they told tales of the old whaler's wealth.
The Best Short Stories of 1917|Various
They had good places in a front box, and there was luckily a pillar behind which mamma could weep in comfort.
The Virginians|William Makepeace Thackeray
There was High Mass in the choir that day, and she knelt a little way down the nave, beside a pillar.
Long Will|Florence Converse
He had been a pillar of fire to the American cause—a pillar of smoke to the enemies of human rights.
Sages and Heroes of the American Revolution|L. Carroll Judson
British Dictionary definitions for pillar
pillar
/ (ˈpɪlə) /
noun
an upright structure of stone, brick, metal, etc, that supports a superstructure or is used for ornamentation
something resembling this in shape or functiona pillar of stones; a pillar of smoke
a tall, slender, usually sheer rock column, forming a separate top
a prominent supportera pillar of the Church
from pillar to postfrom one place to another
verb
(tr)to support with or as if with pillars
Word Origin for pillar
C13: from Old French pilier, from Latin pīla; see pile1