Definition of COLONY

colony

Plural: colonies

Noun

  • A group of people or organisms living together in a new place.
  • a body of people who settle far from home but maintain ties with their homeland; inhabitants remain nationals of their home state but are not literally under the home state's system of government
    • "the American colony in Paris"
  • a group of organisms of the same type living or growing together
  • one of the 13 British colonies that formed the original states of the United States
  • a place where a group of people with the same interest or occupation are concentrated
    • "a nudist colony"
    • "an artists' colony"
  • a geographical area politically controlled by a distant country
  • (microbiology) a group of organisms grown from a single parent cell
  • An area under the political control of another country and typically occupied by settlers (colonists) from it, or by their descendants.
  • A group of people who settle such an area and maintain ties to their native country, and (later) their descendants.
  • A group of people, of one nationality, ethnic group, or language, residing in a different country, city, or area; the area such people occupy.
  • A group of people with similar interests, occupations, or characteristics, living in a particular area; the area such people occupy.
  • A group of organisms of same or different species living together in close association.
  • A group of bacteria, fungi or other cells cultured together, especially from a single cell.
  • An apartment complex or neighborhood.
  • A local group of Beaver Scouts.
  • A potential new chapter of a fraternity or sorority awaiting official recognition from their headquarters.

Verb

  • To colonize.

Examples

  • a colony of British expats in Spain
  • a colony of specialized polyps and medusoids
  • a leper colony on the outskirts of town; most buildings in the penal colony were made of concrete
  • a nudist colony; the statue was put up right in the middle of the artist colony
  • ant colony; coral colony
  • Bermuda is a crown colony of Great Britain.
  • colonies of stem cells
  • His words formed a COLONY, spreading across the board and claiming valuable squares in Words With Friends.
  • Much of the eastern United States was formerly a British colony; other areas were French, Spanish, Dutch, or Swedish colonies.
  • Our colony is quite small, but each apartment is large.
  • The Amana Colonies in Iowa were settled by people from Germany.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English colane, colonye, from Latin colōnia (“colony”), from colōnus (“farmer; colonist”), from colō (“till, cultivate, worship”), from earlier *quelō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- (“to move; to turn (around)”). Doublet of Cologne, Colonia, and Köln.

Scrabble Score: 11

colony: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
colony: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
colony: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

colony: valid Words With Friends Word