color

1 of 2

noun

col·​or ˈkə-lər How to pronounce color (audio)
plural colors
often attributive
1
a
: a phenomenon of light (such as red, brown, pink, or gray) or visual perception that enables one to differentiate otherwise identical objects
b(1)
: the aspect of the appearance of objects and light sources that may be described in terms of hue, lightness, and saturation (see saturation sense 4) for objects and hue, brightness, and saturation for light sources
the changing color of the sky
also : a specific combination of hue, saturation, and lightness or brightness
comes in six colors
(2)
: a color other than and as contrasted with black, white, or gray
c
colors plural : clothing of a bright (see bright entry 1 sense 4) color : clothing that is neither dark nor light in color
Wash your colors separately from your darks and lights.
2
: something used to give color : pigment
3
a
: two or more hues employed in a medium of presentation
movies in color
b
: the use or combination of colors
4
: skin pigmentation other than and especially darker than what is considered characteristic of people typically defined as white (see white entry 1 sense 2a)
The charges … allege that the social network discriminates based on colorShawn Knight
often used with of
… the policy of treating youthful offenders as adults falls most heavily on those of color.Kristin Choo
see also man of color, person of color, woman of color
5
: complexion tint:
a
: the tint characteristic of good health
… sat looking at her with wistful eyes, trying to see signs of hope in the faint color on Beth's cheeks.Louisa May Alcott
b
: blush
6
a
: an identifying badge, pennant, or flag
usually used in plural
a ship sailing under Swedish colors
b
: colored clothing distinguishing one as a member of a particular group or representative of a particular person or thing
usually used in plural
a jockey wearing the colors of the stable
wore his college colors to the game
7
a
: character, nature
usually used in plural
showed himself in his true colors
b
colors plural : position as to a question or course of action : stand
… the USSR changed neither its colors nor its stripes during all of this …Norman Mailer
8
a
: vividness or variety of effects of language
… that color and force of style which were later to make him outstanding among American editors …Arthur Krock
9
: vitality, interest
The play had a good deal of color to it.
10
: analysis of game action or strategy, statistics and background information on participants, and often anecdotes provided by a sportscaster to give variety and interest to the broadcast of a game or contest
a color commentator
11
a
: an outward often deceptive show : appearance
His story has the color of truth.
b
: a legal claim to or appearance of a right, authority, or office
c
: a pretense offered as justification : pretext
the color for his action
d
: an appearance of authenticity : plausibility
lending color to this notion
12
colors plural
a
: a naval or nautical salute to a flag being hoisted or lowered
13
: the quality of timbre in music
the color and richness of the cello
14
: a small particle of gold in a gold miner's pan after washing
15
: a hypothetical property of quarks that differentiates each type into three forms having a distinct role in binding quarks together

color

2 of 2

verb

colored; coloring; colors

transitive verb

1
a
: to give color to
b
: to change the color of (as by dyeing, staining, or painting)
She colors her hair.
2
: to change as if by dyeing or painting: such as
a
: influence
"The lives of most of us have been colored by politics … "Christine Weston
b
: misrepresent, distort
a highly colored version of the facts
c
: gloss, excuse
color a lie
3
: characterize, label
… call it progress; color it inevitable with shades of job securityC. E. Price

intransitive verb

1
: to fill in a shape or picture outlined on a piece of paper using markers, crayons, colored pencils, etc.
His granddaughter Fernanda sat at his side, coloring with crayons.Charles Montgomery
2
: to take on color
specifically : blush
She colored at the mention of his name.
colorer noun

Examples of color in a Sentence

Noun The color of blood is red. What color are your eyes? What color paint shall we use? Blue and green are my favorite colors. The pillows are all different colors. The room needs more color. In early summer the garden is full of color. She added color to her outfit with a bright scarf. His eyes were bluish-green in color. She's using a new lip color. Verb We colored the water with red ink. The children were busy coloring in their coloring books. My nephew colored a picture for me. The child colored the sky blue and the sun yellow.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Marshall was not merely advancing a generic argument that the Constitution commands blindness to color or race. Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024 Copyright Office just lists its computer code and specific text instructions — but not colors or graphics. Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024 The exaggeration of everything, from the saturation of color to the entwinement of the lovers’ bodies, always so entangled, depicting passion and female sensuality and abandon to a ridiculous degree. Kim Gordon, Variety, 13 Mar. 2024 This fest has basically said Jews, which include Jews of color, are not welcome. August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024 The plotless video is an amalgamation of glitchy visuals like floating eyeballs and melting blocks of color. Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 12 Mar. 2024 Young bedbugs are smaller and may be lighter in color than their adult counterparts – closer to yellow or white than brown. Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 12 Mar. 2024 The actress, who was on a date night with husband Jesse Plemons, added a pop of color with a striking red lip. Jackie Fields, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 During her tenure, the city also adopted new social studies standards that include more representation for people of color and became the first jurisdiction in the country with universal menstrual health standards. Lauren Lumpkin, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024
Verb
My attitude toward students is probably colored by 35 years of teaching college freshmen, mostly at a large community college. John M. Crisp, The Mercury News, 12 Mar. 2024 For your kids table, throw down this giant coloring tablecloth, so the kids can color and eat, all without getting your table dirty. Christopher Murray, Fox News, 11 Mar. 2024 The film also colors complex, tense relationships with Judas (Harvey Keitel) and Mary Magdalene (Barbara Hershey) that effectively dramatize and emphasize Christ’s humanity. Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 9 Mar. 2024 Also, if your tot likes to color at the table, removing crayon marks from the surface can prove challenging. Samantha McIntyre, Parents, 9 Mar. 2024 Though the scholarship recipients are eager to begin paving a new path for themselves, the constant othering, feelings of isolation and fetishism begin coloring what should be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 8 Mar. 2024 The actress followed this up with a coloring session courtesy of Cunningham. Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 4 Mar. 2024 Use it for breakfast in this delicious frittata that's colored with green chiles, black beans, and fresh cilantro. Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Mar. 2024 Then comes biomass and the reprocessing industry at 2 GT, which is colored green and more certain. Ian Palmer, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'color.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English colour, borrowed from Anglo-French, going back to Latin color, earlier colōs "color as a physical phenomenon, pigment, complexion, appearance," probably, assuming an original meaning "covering, outermost layer, appearance," going back to *ḱel-ōs, collective derivative from an Indo-European s-stem *ḱel-os "covering" (whence perhaps Sanskrit śaras- "skin on boiled milk, cream" and, from a thematic derivative, Old High German hulisa "hull of a legume"), derivative of a verbal base *ḱel- "cover, conceal" — more at conceal

Verb

Middle English colouren, borrowed from Anglo-French colurer, going back to Latin colōrāre, derivative of color color entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of color was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near color

Cite this Entry

“Color.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/color. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

color

1 of 2 noun
col·​or ˈkəl-ər How to pronounce color (audio)
1
a
: an aspect of light (as red, brown, or gray) or sight that allows one to tell otherwise identical objects apart from each other
the color of blood is red
b
: the property of objects and light sources that may be described in terms of hue, lightness, and chromatic purity for objects and hue, brightness, and chromatic purity for light sources
the sky's changing color
c
: a particular combination of hue, lightness or brightness, and chromatic purity
the car comes in six colors
d
: a color other than black, white, or gray
2
: an outward and often deceiving appearance
her story has the color of truth
3
a
: the color of a person's skin especially other than white as a mark of race
a person of color
does not discriminate on the basis of color
b
: a pink or red tone in a person's face especially because of good health, excitement, or embarrassment
4
: the use or combination of colors
a painter who is a master of color
5
plural
a
: an identifying flag, badge, or pennant
a ship sailing under Swedish colors
b
: service in the armed forces
a call to the colors
c
: a person's nature or character
showed his true colors during the crisis
6
: vitality sense 3b, interest entry 1 sense 4b
her comments added color to the broadcast
7
: something used to give color : pigment

color

2 of 2 verb
1
a
: to give color to
the wind colored our cheeks
b
: to change the color of (as by dyeing, staining, or painting)
2
: misrepresent, distort
his story is colored by his prejudices
3
: to take on or change color
especially : blush
colorer noun

Medical Definition

color

noun
col·​or
variants or chiefly British colour
1
a
: a phenomenon of light (as red, brown, pink, or gray) or visual perception that enables one to differentiate otherwise identical objects
b
: the aspect of objects and light sources that may be described in terms of hue, lightness, and saturation for objects and hue, brightness, and saturation for light sources
c
: a hue as contrasted with black, white, or gray
2
: complexion tint
especially : the tint characteristic of good health
color adjective
or chiefly British colour

Legal Definition

color

noun
col·​or
: a legal claim to or appearance of a right or authority
threats that gave color to an act of self-defense
usually used in the phrase under color of
a police officer held liable for violating the plaintiff's civil rights under color of state law
a second “search” under color of warrantW. R. LaFave and J. H. Israel

More from Merriam-Webster on color

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