sixth column
sixth column noun: an additional group, beyond an identified fifth column, of people which clandestinely undermines a larger group, such as a nation, to which it is expected to be loyal.
Noun
sixth column (plural sixth columns)
- An additional group, beyond an identified fifth column, of people which clandestinely undermines a larger group, such as a nation, to which it is expected to be loyal.
- If the Government is talking about suppressing a Fifth Column, why raise a Sixth Column?1940 June 3, The Sun News-Pictorial, Melbourne, page 3, column 3
- True, we have people of the fifth column, and, unfortunately, the sixth column, with us; they have them in every country; but so far in this war the British diplomatic and secret service has not been so successful as that clever, astute brute-man Hitler and his agents.1940 September 20, The Advertiser, Adelaide, page 24, column 4
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see sixth, column.
Forms of sixth column
| plural | sixth columns |
|---|
Origin of sixth column
Extension of fifth column.
Questions about sixth column
- What does sixth column mean?
- Sixth column means an additional group, beyond an identified fifth column, of people which clandestinely undermines a larger group, such as a nation, to which it is expected to be loyal.
- What part of speech is sixth column?
- Sixth column is a noun.
- What is the plural of sixth column?
- The plural of sixth column is sixth columns.
Words near sixth column in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: sixth column (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “sixth column.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sixth_column. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.