1
as in plantation
a settlement in a new country or region the early history of New York City when it was a Dutch colony

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2
as in community
a group of people with a common interest living in one place New Hampshire's MacDowell colony was founded as a summer residence for writers and composers

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of colony Before the Revolution, there was no separation of church and state in the American colonies. Time, 10 July 2025 Meanwhile, the Fourth of July, or Independence Day, is a U.S. federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 when 13 American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 July 2025 In the last three months alone, swarms in Texas attacked and killed one man, and led to three others being hospitalized after disturbing a colony, CBS News Miami reported. July 2, CBS News, 2 July 2025 If a task can be performed in more than one way by equal peers working together—much in the way an ant colony or swarm of bees works—then the system is resistant to censorship and hardware faults and has service continuity due to economic sustainability. Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for colony
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colony
Noun
  • Harding’s daughter — curiously named William Elizabeth Harding in honor of her parents — inherited the plantation after marrying David H. McGavock, her cousin, in 1850.
    Austin Hornbostel, The Tennessean, 4 July 2025
  • The remaining countryside is sparsely populated, and the pastoral mix of farmlands, marshes and eucalyptus plantations creates an ideal blend of habit for several varieties of game birds to thrive including the tinamou, doves, pigeons and many species of ducks.
    Chris Dorsey, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
Noun
  • However, the 6th District Court of Rhode Island declined to honor the detainer, releasing Mendoza without notifying ICE, forcing agents to locate and arrest him in the community.
    Stepheny Price , Bill Melugin, FOXNews.com, 15 July 2025
  • And while external communities matter, don’t overlook your most important one: your team.
    Douglas Gregory, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
Noun
  • The international brands all have their outposts, of course, mostly on the Via Camerelle, while Jackie Kennedy’s favorite, La Parisienne Capri, is still on Piazza Umberto.
    Richard Godwin, Travel + Leisure, 12 July 2025
  • Philippe Chow, the upscale Beijing-style restaurant out of New York, will officially open its Nashville outpost in August.
    Hadley Hitson, The Tennessean, 11 July 2025

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“Colony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colony. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.

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