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pillar

Pronunciation: /ˈpɪlə/
Translate pillar | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of pillar

noun

  • a tall vertical structure of stone, wood, or metal, used as a support for a building, or as an ornament or monument.
  • something shaped like a pillar:a pillar of rock
  • a solid mass of coal left to support the roof of a mine.
  • a person or thing regarded as reliably providing essential support for something:he was a pillar of his local community

Phrases

from pillar to post

from one place to another in an unceremonious or fruitless manner:they were pushed from pillar to post from the moment they left their homes

Derivatives

pillared

adjective

Origin:

Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French piler, based on Latin pila 'pillar'

pillar in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of pillar in the US English dictionary