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 colonies …—
Linda Colley
Linda 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
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
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
Karl Schneider4
a
: a circumscribed mass of microorganisms usually growing in or on a solid medium
colonies of bacteria
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
The company secured a federal contract to run a colony of 3,500 monkeys on Morgan Island off the coast of South Carolina, also known as Monkey Island.
—Austin Mullen, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024
These are literal trails where ants lay down a pheromone on the path to a food source to attract other ants from their colony.
—Tamara Gane, Southern Living, 4 Nov. 2024
Golden mussel takeovers in other countries have shown that the species can grow in clumps or colonies containing as many as 80,000 to 200,000 organisms per square meter.
—Rosanna Xia, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
One of our notable achievements was creating one of the world’s largest captive breeding colonies of ostriches in the United States, further highlighting our commitment to the protection and propagation of avian species across different environments.
—Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for colony 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Austin Mullen, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024
These are literal trails where ants lay down a pheromone on the path to a food source to attract other ants from their colony.
—Tamara Gane, Southern Living, 4 Nov. 2024
Golden mussel takeovers in other countries have shown that the species can grow in clumps or colonies containing as many as 80,000 to 200,000 organisms per square meter.
—Rosanna Xia, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
One of our notable achievements was creating one of the world’s largest captive breeding colonies of ostriches in the United States, further highlighting our commitment to the protection and propagation of avian species across different environments.
—Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for colony
Articles Related to colony
Dictionary Entries Near colony
Cite this Entry
“Colony.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colony. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
colony
noun
col·o·ny
ˈkäl-ə-nē 
plural colonies
1
a
: a distant territory under the control of a foreign nation
b
: a group of people who settle in that territory and retain ties with their original homeland
2
: a group of people who settle in a new place
3
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)
4
: a group of people with common qualities or interests living in close association
an artist colony
Medical Definition
colony
noun
col·o·ny
ˈkäl-ə-nē
plural colonies
: a circumscribed mass of microorganisms usually growing in or on a solid medium
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share