SpellingIQ

How to spell column

column

Column is spelled C-O-L-U-M-N.

Not colum or collum.

Why is column easy to misspell?

Silent letters

The word column ends with a silent N, and the misspelling colum leaves it off. Columnist usually says that N aloud, which is one way to check it is there.

That spelling matches the sound exactly, which is why it looked right. English keeps letters long after the sound has moved on, so the conventional spelling is often the one that looks least like it sounds.

What does column mean?

n. a vertical division of a page

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SpellingIQ is a skill rating for spelling ability, not a clinical or psychometric IQ measure. American English is canonical; common variants are accepted.