a pillar of rock; a pillar of smoke. any upright, supporting part; post: the pillar of a table. a person who is a chief supporter of a society, state, institution, etc.: a pillar of the community. a basis or support: The government regards agriculture and trade as fundamental pillars...
a pillar of smoke/rock Oxford Collocations Dictionary pillar of something a strong supporter of something; an important member of something He was a pillar of the Church. a pillar of society He was the local magistrate and a pillar of the community. pillar of something a person who ...
Column is a synonym of pillar. In architecture terms the difference between pillar and columnis that pillar is a large post, often used as supporting architecture while column is a solid upright structure designed usually to support a larger structure above it, such as a roof or horizontal beam...
Community policing, on the other hand, was promoted as a response in the UK to homegrown terrorism and the perceived need to engage with the Muslim community, in particular, on the assumption that gathering information from informed members of the community provides a potentially valuable resource....