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 color …—
Shawn Knight
—often used with ofShawn Knight… 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
Kristin Choo5
: 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
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
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
Arthur Krock
b
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
d
: an appearance of authenticity : plausibility
lending color to this notion
12
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
colored; coloring; colors
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
Christine Weston
b
: misrepresent, distort
a highly colored version of the facts
3
: characterize, label
… call it progress; color it inevitable with shades of job security—C. E. Price
C. E. Price1
: 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
Charles Montgomery2
: to take on color
Synonyms
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.
See More
Recent Examples on the WebAnnie Blay, Allure, 21 Nov. 2023
The extra footage does little to shift the series away from pure spectacle, where white folks are favored and people of color are sacrificed.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 21 Nov. 2023
Thurstan Design in London is responsible for the color palette and the majority of design details.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 21 Nov. 2023
With its modular and flexible components — each totally customizable in terms of color and label — the collection allows your giftee to build a personalized system tailored to their unique needs.
—Austa Somvichian-Clausen, Travel + Leisure, 20 Nov. 2023
The crimson dressing gown of the handsome Dr. Pozzi set against a red velvet wall floods the eye with the color intensity of a Matisse decoration.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 20 Nov. 2023
Keeping both tops in a neutral color palette and coordinating your accessories in rich burgundy hues like Elle Fanning elevates the look.
—Sarah Ball, Peoplemag, 20 Nov. 2023
The eye-catching color complemented her new brunette locks, which were styled into a half-up hairdo complete with mermaid waves.
—Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 9 Nov. 2023
Oxblood of course being the official color of autumn 2023, Fox added oxblood pumps to match her red mani and her new cherry-red hair.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 9 Nov. 2023
Maya Polton, Parents, 21 Nov. 2023
The latter is thanks in part to herringbone highlights, an ingenious coloring concept that works with your grays rather than against them.
—Hannah Coates, Vogue, 20 Nov. 2023
My two oldest sisters will color their hair forever.
—Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 17 Nov. 2023
The art is in making the formula distinct, coloring it in with interesting characters set against an appealing, which is not necessarily to say pretty, background.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 14 Nov. 2023
Collected below are images from this year’s festival, as celebrants color their world, give prayers, and wish one another a happy Diwali.
—Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 13 Nov. 2023
Made with naturally purple sweet potatoes—no food coloring needed!—this classic dessert has a whole new look but the same great taste of the original.
—Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 12 Nov. 2023
There were quiet moments of coloring mermaids together, and others that induced squeals of delight, such as a massive cone of vanilla gelato sheathed in rainbow sprinkles at Anita Gelato in Manly.
—Kathryn Romeyn, Travel + Leisure, 12 Nov. 2023
Major Anders, who had been photographing the moon with black-and-white film, switched quickly to color to capture the image.
—Richard Goldstein, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2023
See More
Noun
One swipe keeps lips soft without causing your color products to glide right off.
—Annie Blay, Allure, 21 Nov. 2023
The extra footage does little to shift the series away from pure spectacle, where white folks are favored and people of color are sacrificed.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 21 Nov. 2023
Thurstan Design in London is responsible for the color palette and the majority of design details.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 21 Nov. 2023
With its modular and flexible components — each totally customizable in terms of color and label — the collection allows your giftee to build a personalized system tailored to their unique needs.
—Austa Somvichian-Clausen, Travel + Leisure, 20 Nov. 2023
The crimson dressing gown of the handsome Dr. Pozzi set against a red velvet wall floods the eye with the color intensity of a Matisse decoration.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 20 Nov. 2023
Keeping both tops in a neutral color palette and coordinating your accessories in rich burgundy hues like Elle Fanning elevates the look.
—Sarah Ball, Peoplemag, 20 Nov. 2023
The eye-catching color complemented her new brunette locks, which were styled into a half-up hairdo complete with mermaid waves.
—Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 9 Nov. 2023
Oxblood of course being the official color of autumn 2023, Fox added oxblood pumps to match her red mani and her new cherry-red hair.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 9 Nov. 2023
Verb
Its 80 pages all have chic line drawings of flowers just waiting to be colored.
—Maya Polton, Parents, 21 Nov. 2023
The latter is thanks in part to herringbone highlights, an ingenious coloring concept that works with your grays rather than against them.
—Hannah Coates, Vogue, 20 Nov. 2023
My two oldest sisters will color their hair forever.
—Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 17 Nov. 2023
The art is in making the formula distinct, coloring it in with interesting characters set against an appealing, which is not necessarily to say pretty, background.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 14 Nov. 2023
Collected below are images from this year’s festival, as celebrants color their world, give prayers, and wish one another a happy Diwali.
—Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 13 Nov. 2023
Made with naturally purple sweet potatoes—no food coloring needed!—this classic dessert has a whole new look but the same great taste of the original.
—Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 12 Nov. 2023
There were quiet moments of coloring mermaids together, and others that induced squeals of delight, such as a massive cone of vanilla gelato sheathed in rainbow sprinkles at Anita Gelato in Manly.
—Kathryn Romeyn, Travel + Leisure, 12 Nov. 2023
Major Anders, who had been photographing the moon with black-and-white film, switched quickly to color to capture the image.
—Richard Goldstein, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2023
See More
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
Phrases Containing color
Dictionary Entries Near color
Cite this Entry
“Color.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/color. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
color
1 of 2 noun
col·or
ˈkəl-ər 
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 verb1
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 warrant—W. R. LaFave and J. H. Israel
W. R. LaFave and J. H. Israel
More from Merriam-Webster on color
Nglish: Translation of color for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of color for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about color
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