colony

noun

col·​o·​ny ˈkä-lə-nē How to pronounce colony (audio)
plural colonies
1
: an area over which a foreign nation or state extends or maintains control
a former colony
"British America" in 1776 signified not only the thirteen colonies and [the historical region called] the Floridas, but also Canada, Nova Scotia, and Britain's Caribbean coloniesLinda Colley
also : a group of people who establish residence in that area and who retain ties with the parent state
members of Plymouth colony
2
: a group of people who settle together in a new place
… building an ecosystem from scratch on Mars that can provide food, water and oxygen to support a colony is no small task.Eric Mack
also : the land or buildings used by such a group
… suggested … the possibility that crops grown inside the [theoretical Mars] colony would produce suffocating levels of oxygen. Scott Dance
3
: a distinguishable localized population of a species or type of organism
a colony of termites/ants
The birds [black skimmers] generally nest in colonies along beaches, with the largest colony in Florida residing on Marco Island.Karl Schneider
4
a
: a circumscribed mass of microorganisms usually growing in or on a solid medium
colonies of bacteria
b
: the aggregation of zooids of a compound animal (such as a coral or bryozoan)
A new coral colony is begun when a planula settles down on a reef, attaches itself there, and forms the first polyp, from which others bud.Joseph E. Neigel and John C. Avise
5
: a group of individuals or things with common characteristics or interests living in close association
an artist colony
a nudist colony
also : the land or buildings used by such a group
6
: a group of persons institutionalized away from others
a leper colony
a penal colony
also : the land or buildings used by such a group

Examples of colony in a Sentence

Massachusetts was one of the original 13 British colonies that later became the United States. a former French colony in Africa
Recent Examples on the Web Their game-changing discoveries will result in a massive cover story in a glitzy magazine, the many years of their Ph.D. research solving the mystery of colony collapse disorder — when worker bees exit a honey bee colony, leaving the queen with food and nurse bees to care for the immature bees. David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2024 These staffers also have another important duty: counting the roughly 1,500 gentoo penguins that live in a colony at Port Lockroy. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024 While the butterfly wintered in Mexico, the organization found that the eastern monarch butterfly colonies took up 2.2 acres of regional forests. Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 12 Mar. 2024 Eight days later, Alexei Navalny died in an Arctic prison colony, an event widely blamed on the Russian state, eliminating Russia’s most prominent opposition leader. Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 7 Mar. 2024 Large colonies of elephant seals are also typically found at Piedras Blancas near San Simeon, at Año Nuevo State Reserve and at the Channel Islands off Southern California. Don Sweeney, Sacramento Bee, 3 Mar. 2024 Kaye uses a mite shaker to perform an inspection for varroa mites, an invasive parasite that spreads lethal viruses and can decimate a colony. Landon Speers, Bon Appétit, 29 Feb. 2024 Nobody knows how many Asian honey bee colonies reached Australia before the one that led to a successful invasion. Popular Science, 29 Feb. 2024 The last Soviet dissident to die in jail, Anatoly Marchenko, succumbed at age 48 in 1986 in the Chistopol prison colony in Tartarstan, after a hunger strike to call for the release of all political prisoners. Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'colony.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English colonie, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, from Latin colonia, from colonus farmer, colonist, from colere to cultivate — more at wheel

First Known Use

circa 1550, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of colony was circa 1550

Dictionary Entries Near colony

Cite this Entry

“Colony.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colony. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

colony

noun
col·​o·​ny ˈkäl-ə-nē How to pronounce colony (audio)
plural colonies
1
a
: a group of people sent out by a state to a new territory
b
: the territory in which such colonists live
c
: a distant territory belonging to or under the control of a nation
2
a
: a population of plants or animals in a particular place that belong to one species
b
: a mass of microbes usually growing in or on a solid food source (as agar)
3
: a group of people with common qualities or interests located in close association
an artist colony

Medical Definition

colony

noun
col·​o·​ny ˈkäl-ə-nē How to pronounce colony (audio)
plural colonies
: a circumscribed mass of microorganisms usually growing in or on a solid medium

More from Merriam-Webster on colony

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