How to Use colony in a Sentence

colony

noun
Definition of colonynext
Synonyms for colonynext
  • Massachusetts was one of the original 13 British colonies that later became the United States.
  • Whereas most ant species have a queen that lays eggs while workers gather food for her and the colony’s young, as well as themselves, clonal raiders lack queens.
    — Byelizabeth Pennisi, science.org, 6 Mar. 2023
  • But in at least one colony, those other workers have sprouted wings like queen ants and don’t budge from the comforts of their nest (second video, below).
    — Byelizabeth Pennisi, science.org, 6 Mar. 2023
  • Honeybees have made a big comeback since the colony collapse crisis of the early 2000s.
    — Jacob Knutson, Axios, 8 Aug. 2024
  • Many of these enslaved people ended up in Britain’s Caribbean colonies, called the West Indies.
    — Devoney Looser, The Conversation, 14 Aug. 2024
  • In the direct sequel to Prometheus, Alien: Covenant follows the colony vessel, Covenant, traveling to a remote planet.
    — Rendy Jones, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2024
  • Over two years, several Mennonite men have raped more than a hundred women and young girls in their remote colony, drugging them with cattle tranquilizer and then assaulting them in their beds.
    — Ed Stockly, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2023
  • If that builds up in your bin, that too can wipe out your colony.
    — Megan Leonhardt, Fortune, 25 Apr. 2023
  • Then the chicks will be ready to live with the colony and make their zoo debut in the habitat.
    — Brooke Baitinger, Sacramento Bee, 15 May 2024
  • For starters, both a queen and a king are needed to start a termite colony.
    — Elizabeth Preston, New York Times, 5 May 2023
  • The former British colony still pegs the value of its money to that of the US dollar.
    — Laura He, CNN, 13 June 2023
  • Inside, the colony looked like a train station at rush hour.
    — Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023
  • Dense colonies of aphids can be found along stems or on the undersides of leaves.
    — Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2023
  • Green sweat bees Green sweat bees often nest in the ground or wood and live alone rather than in colonies.
    — Marina Johnson, Detroit Free Press, 4 May 2023
  • Penguins nesting on the fringes of the colony had longer, deeper sleeps than those in the middle.
    — Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Nov. 2023
  • Ants need to defend their colony, seek food and take care of offspring.
    — Discover Magazine, 13 Mar. 2023
  • In the greenhouses, the urchins sometimes share tanks with small coral colonies to help keep the coral algae-free.
    — Lisa S. Gardiner, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Aug. 2024
  • First of all: Don’t accept food, never mind ancient yeast colonies, from strangers in the woods.
    — John Hodgman, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2023
  • But not all colonies will recover in 20 or even 30 years, Jones notes.
    — Ethan Freedman, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 May 2024
  • Mind you, Svarthamaren has long been described as the world’s largest colony of antarctic petrels.
    — Melissa Breyer, Treehugger, 13 Mar. 2023
  • The colony has now reached about 3,000 birds and its population is stable, Lyons tells the AP.
    — Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Sep. 2023
  • The film is a space opera that follows a young woman living in a peaceful colony on the outskirts of the galaxy.
    — Zack Sharf, Variety, 28 Aug. 2023
  • Charles is the monarch of 14 former British colonies as well as the U.K., and the king has tentatively addressed the legacy of the empire.
    — Jill Lawless, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 May 2023
  • The dances of the older control bees from colonies with teachers remained just as good as their first dances.
    — Discover Magazine, 14 Mar. 2023
  • At the time of this publication, there are no confirmed colonies of this species.
    — Cole Sikes Communications and Marketing Specialist Alabama Cooperative Extension System, al, 16 Aug. 2023
  • The sights and sounds are meant to trick passing birds into thinking the island is a busy breeding colony.
    — Tim Lydon, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Apr. 2023
  • Then there was the grueling trip to the new world, the colony’s collapse and, now, a solo journey that makes up the greater part of this story.
    — Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2023
  • The guards were watching but didn’t escort prisoners through the colony, which revolved around the Yard.
    — Brittney Griner, TIME, 3 May 2024
  • The Borgue Coast is home to large seabird colonies, as well as dune grassland vegetation.
    — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Apr. 2023
  • Now the zoo has revealed that its capybara colony has grown to 11 with the new addition of five new pups that were born just two weeks ago.
    — Ariana Garcia, Chron, 2 Apr. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'colony.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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