Columbia

American  

[kuh-luhm-bee-uh] / kəˈlʌm bi ə /

noun

1. a river in southwestern Canada and the northwestern United States, flowing south and west from southeastern British Columbia through Washington along the boundary between Washington and Oregon and into the Pacific. 1,214 miles (1,955 km) long.

2. Cape Columbia, a cape on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, in the Arctic Ocean: northernmost point of Canada.

3. a city in and the capital of South Carolina, in the central part.

4. a city in central Missouri.

5. a city in central Maryland.

6. a city in central Tennessee.

7. a city in southeastern Pennsylvania.

8. Literary. the United States of America.

9. one of an American breed of large sheep, developed by crossbreeding the Lincoln and Rambouillet, noted for its good market lambs and heavy fleece of medium length.

10. Aerospace. the first space shuttle to orbit and return to earth.

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Columbia ¹ British  

/ kəˈlʌmbɪə /

noun

1. a river in NW North America, rising in the Rocky Mountains and flowing through British Columbia, then west to the Pacific. Length: about 1930 km (1200 miles)

2. a city in central South Carolina, on the Congaree River: the state capital. Pop: 117 357 (2003 est)

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Columbia ² British  

/ kəˈlʌmbɪə /

noun

1. the first test vehicle of the NASA space shuttle fleet to prove the possibility of routine access to space for scientific and commercial ventures

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Example Sentences

“A lot of the stragglers have done a good job cleaning up their act,” says Ed Al-Hussainy, global rates strategist at Columbia Threadneedle Investments.

From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026

Estelle said he was now considering opportunities abroad, having reached interview stage in British Columbia.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

She graduated from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism with the Philip Greer Award for excellence in financial journalism.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which has set a 17 April deadline to file the requests.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

On the far side of the park were the Columbia University complex, Grant’s Tomb, and Riverside Church, all places I would come to know over the following years.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers