water column
noun
plural water columns
1
: a vertical expanse of water stretching between the surface and the floor of a body of water
Shallow feeders, sea lions work the top 600 feet of the water column for hake, rock-fish, herring, sardines … and squid, but opportunistically capturing anything that happens by.—
Downs Matthews
Downs MatthewsOnly a few animals of the water column above would have died and settled into the sediments below during the short time when the mudslide was coalescing into a layer of sediment in the stagnant basin.—Stephen Jay Gould
Stephen Jay Gould2
: a vertical pipe with valves and spout for delivering water to a locomotive tender
Examples of water column in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Much of it was lofted by tiny gas pockets into the upper water column, only to fall back downward after the bubbles fizzed into the atmosphere.
—Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
The center of the image corresponds to the water column directly beneath the sonar device and appears dark.
—John Femiani, The Conversation, 30 Mar. 2026
World’s fastest mini-sub According to reports, the submersible is able to ascend and descend in the water column at angles up to 45 degrees.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 29 Mar. 2026
There, thousands of translucent orbs smaller than peas bob in the water column below the fishing dock.
—Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for water column
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Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
The center of the image corresponds to the water column directly beneath the sonar device and appears dark.
—John Femiani, The Conversation, 30 Mar. 2026
World’s fastest mini-sub According to reports, the submersible is able to ascend and descend in the water column at angles up to 45 degrees.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 29 Mar. 2026
There, thousands of translucent orbs smaller than peas bob in the water column below the fishing dock.
—Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for water column
Cite this Entry
“Water column.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/water%20column. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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