beige

noun \ ˈbāzh \

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

Definition of beige

1 : cloth made of natural undyed wool

2 a : a variable color averaging light grayish-yellowish brown

b : a pale to grayish yellow

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beigy

play \ˈbā-zhē\ adjective

See beige defined for English-language learners

See beige defined for kids

Recent Examples of beige from the Web

Blues, beiges and browns predominate in the first few pages, as a child with a backpack joins the throng on a busy city street.

— WSJ, "Children’s Books: Face-to-Face With the Classics," 23 Mar. 2018
And 10 types of beige, sprinkled with a few colors on either end of the spectrum, does not an expansive range make.

— marci robin, Glamour, "The Best Foundations for Every Skin Tone," 21 Mar. 2018
In a nod to the surrounding community, construction supervisors chose a color palette of sandy beige, with accents of apricot and mint, to complement neighboring Victorians and Craftsman Bungalows.

— deborah sullivan brennan, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Escondido schools floating new bond measure, four years after last one," 2 Feb. 2018
Their living room looks like a Pottery Barn catalog, with throw pillows alternating precisely across the couch: beige, burgundy, beige, burgundy, beige.

— hallie goodman, Redbook, "My Husband and I Are Happily Married — But We Want to Have Sex With Other People," 1 Sep. 2017
The Hims marketing campaign features trendy hallmarks like minimal branding, a beige that looks like millennial pink’s equally chill brother, and succulents that stand in for phalluses.

— cam wolf, GQ, "Hims, the Millennial Erectile Dysfunction Company, Is Already Worth $200 Million," 7 Mar. 2018
For the outer walls of the rooms in the outer circle, the couple chose beige; the inner circle is blue.

— diane fiske, Philly.com, "Couple creates an urban loft in the Delaware countryside," 6 Mar. 2018
Sixty-seven years later, Went’s seeds reside in a beige multistoried building off the quad of Colorado State University in Fort Collins.

— sena christian, Newsweek, "Breakfast in Post-Apocalypse America: Inside Colorado's Fort Knox of Food," 19 Nov. 2015
Jenner introduced three new matte lipsticks in a pitch black color called Nightfall, a beige called Cosmic and a peachy nude called Nova.

— alexia fernandez, PEOPLE.com, "Kylie Jenner Unveils Newest Cosmetics Collection Inspired by Newborn Daughter Stormi," 23 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'beige.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of beige

borrowed from French, going back to Middle French baige, noun derivative of Old French bege "uncolored, having the color of natural wool," of uncertain origin

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1819

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year