Pillar definition, an upright shaft or structure, of stone, brick, or other material, relatively slender in proportion to its height, and of any shape in section, used as a building support, or standing alone, as for a monument: Gothic pillars; a pillar to commemorate Columbus.

While a column and a pillar are both physical cylindrical structures, a column can also be the row running up and down on a chart, while a pillar is often someone or thing that is considered a foundation or support. Someone indispensable to your company might be considered a pillar to the organization.

Pillar \Pil"lar\, adjective (Mach.) Having a support in the form of a pillar, instead of legs; as, a pillar drill. From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Pillar \Pil"lar\, noun [OE. pilerF. pilier, LL. pilare, pilarium, pilarius, fr. L. pila a pillar. See a heap.] 1.

The notion of a pillar is of a shaft or isolated pile either supporting or not supporting a roof. But perhaps the earliest application of the pillar was the votive or monumental, This in early times consisted of nothing but a single stone or pile of stones. ( Genesis 28:18 ; 31:40 ) etc.

Synonyms of pillar. 1 an upright shaft that supports an overhead structure. the ancient Greek temple boasted graceful marble pillars with richly ornamented tops.