[pil-er] 
| 1. | 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. |
| 2. | a natural formation resembling such a construction: a pillar of rock; a pillar of smoke. |
| 3. | any upright, supporting part; post: the pillar of a table. |
| 4. | a person who is a chief supporter of a society, state, institution, etc.: a pillar of the community. |
| 5. | Horology. any of several short parts for spacing and keeping in the proper relative positions two plates holding the bearings of a watch or clock movement. |
| 6. | Mining. an isolated mass of rock or ore in a mine, usually serving as a roof support in early operations and later removed, wholly or in part. |
| 7. | Nautical. mast 1 (def. 2). |
| 8. | to provide or support with pillars. |
| 9. | from pillar to post,
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| pil·lar (pĭl'ər) n.
To support or decorate with pillars or a pillar. [Middle English, from Old French pilier, from Medieval Latin pīlāre, from Latin pīla.] |
From one place or thing to another in rapid succession: “Abernathy couldn't stick to one project and was always dashing from pillar to post.”
pillar pil·lar (pĭl'ər)
n.
A structure or part that provides support and resembles a column or pillar.
from pillar to post
From one thing or place to another, hither and thither. For example, After Kevin joined the Air Force, the family kept moving from pillar to post. This expression began life in the early 1400s as from post to pillar, an order no longer used, and is thought to allude to the banging about of a ball in the game of court tennis.
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