An honorary civilian title bestowed by some southern US states, most commonly Kentucky; notably Colonel Sanders of KFC.
Used in a Sentence
colonel
Definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for colonel.
Editorial note
You don't sell plum tomatoes to Colonel Cathcart and Colonel Korn.
Examples19
Definitions4
Parts of speech2
Quick take
An honorary civilian title bestowed by some southern US states, most commonly Kentucky; notably Colonel Sanders of KFC.
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of colonel gathered in one view.
(Southern US, dated) An informal title used to address an elderly man.
(intransitive) To act as or like a colonel.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for colonel.
noun
An honorary civilian title bestowed by some southern US states, most commonly Kentucky; notably Colonel Sanders of KFC.
noun
(Southern US, dated) An informal title used to address an elderly man.
verb
(intransitive) To act as or like a colonel.
noun
(historical) A military leader, distinct from the modern professional military rank.
Example sentences
You don't sell plum tomatoes to Colonel Cathcart and Colonel Korn.
This is the definitive presentation (transferred into PowerPoint by Colonel Boyd's acolytes) that quite literally changed the United States Military.
The human in command of the exercise, however -- an Army colonel -- blew a fuse.
Je me souviens que c'est le colonel Gaigneron de Marolles – on disait 'Alain' – qui l'avait présenté à Marenches.
Why can't everyone who joins the military attain the rank of colonel or higher eventually?
Sure, if you ignore the mother/daughter relationship between Ripley and Newt in Aliens, and the clearly-hinted-at-but-never-really-acted-upon romantic connection with Colonel Hicks.
Somebody had produced several hundred Colonel statues but they were deemed too ridiculous to use.
A plane designed by a renegade Colonel for a single goal, which just happens to be something other than Close Air Support.
Unfortunately that police colonel does not have the authority to change the law.
L'officier traitant de Villiers était le colonel de Lignières, adjoint au service Action.
The officer dealing with de Villiers was Colonel de Lignières, Deputy Action Service.
I think the uncanny resemblance of Colonel Sanders to Ho Chi Minh might have something to do with it.
Quote examples
Growing up, the people that over-regimented their children's live were called "Colonel von Trapp" by my parents, in my presence, possibly to their face.
It's exactly what happens with those plum tomatoes I sell to Colonel Cathcart." "Buy," Yossarian corrected him.
Lists: Alan Rickman, Peter Roget, Joseph Conrad, Kathryn Joosten and Harland “Colonel” Sanders.
As colonel Jessop says: "Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns.
Proper noun examples
Colonel Sanders used to be one, which means that his smiling visage is blurred out on the logo of every one of the world's KFCs.
Colonel Winston Brown only donated $30 and got hit by a nasty compiler bug, but then added the missing $70 and another compiler bug fixed his app!
The single best anecdote among many is how the statute of the Colonel, which is outside every KFC in Japan, came to become associated with the brand here.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use colonel in a sentence?
You don't sell plum tomatoes to Colonel Cathcart and Colonel Korn.
What does colonel mean?
An honorary civilian title bestowed by some southern US states, most commonly Kentucky; notably Colonel Sanders of KFC.
What part of speech is colonel?
colonel is commonly used as noun, verb.