color

noun, often attributive

col·or | \ ˈkə-lər

Definition of color

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : 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

2a : 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

3 : 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

4a : 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

b : local color

5a : 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 stablewore his college colors to the game

6a 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

b : character, nature —usually used in plural showed himself in his true colors

7a : the use or combination of colors

b : two or more hues employed in a medium of presentation movies in color

8 colors plural

a : a naval or nautical salute to a flag being hoisted or lowered

b : armed forces

9 : vitality, interest The play had a good deal of color to it.

10 : something used to give color : pigment

11 : the quality of timbre in music the color and richness of the cello

12 : skin pigmentation especially other than white characteristic of race a person of color

13 : a small particle of gold in a gold miner's pan after washing

14 : 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

15 : a hypothetical property of quarks that differentiates each type into three forms having a distinct role in binding quarks together

color

verb

colored; coloring; colors

Definition of color (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : 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 : misrepresent, distort a highly colored version of the facts

b : gloss, excuse color a lie

c : influence "The lives of most of us have been colored by politics … "— Christine Weston

3 : characterize, label … call it progress; color it inevitable with shades of job security— C. E. Price

intransitive verb

1 : to take on color specifically : blush She colored at the mention of his name.

2 : 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

Other Words from color Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about color

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Synonyms & Antonyms for color

Synonyms: Noun

cast, hue, shade, tincture, tinge, tint, tone

Synonyms: Verb

bepaint [archaic], dye, paint, pigment, stain, tincture, tinge, tint

Antonyms: Verb

decolorize

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

The incident in Prince George’s County — and a similar one more recently in neighboring Montgomery County — comes against a backdrop of national concern about school discipline and its disproportionate effect on students of color. — Washington Post, "The money was fake. The police were real. It happened in an elementary school.," 6 July 2019 For decades, the government has helped perpetuate the systemic discrimination that has denied women of color equal opportunities. — Christina Prignano, BostonGlobe.com, "Warren eyes executive actions to level racial wage disparities among women," 5 July 2019 For decades, the government has helped perpetuate the systemic discrimination that has denied women of color equal opportunities. — Andrea González-ramírez, refinery29.com, "Elizabeth Warren's New Plan Aims To Help Women Of Color Rise To The Top In Government," 5 July 2019 But Obed Manuel reports that even without the question's presence, the Census Bureau still faces the possibility of undercounts, particularly of children, immigrants and communities of color. — Dallas News, "Castro rises in poll, outrage over Texas immigration detention centers grows, new Dallas voting plan," 4 July 2019 Eagan said, adding that 65 percent were children of color. — Josh Kovner, courant.com, "Summer safety forum at Connecticut Children’s stresses parental supervision, provides sobering stats on fireworks, drownings, lawnmower accidents, falls from windows, hot-car deaths," 3 July 2019 Jews of color remain few and far between in the rabbinate and community leadership roles. — Josefin Dolsten, sun-sentinel.com, "Filipino-American dancer turned rabbi wants to change the conversation about Jews of color," 3 July 2019 At the heart of her work is the belief that kids of color deserve to be educated and challenged and inspired in the classroom. — Talia Richman, baltimoresun.com, "Amid Baltimore's struggles, many see schools CEO Sonja Santelises as stabilizing force," 3 July 2019 This suggests that, for women and people of color, facial recognition could actually cause an increase in the likelihood to be unfairly targeted for additional screening measures. — Allie Funk, WIRED, "I Opted Out of Facial Recognition at the Airport—It Wasn't Easy," 2 July 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The suspected shooter was described as a white man, bald and wearing a tan shirt and light-colored, possibly gray, pants. — Judith Kohler, The Denver Post, "Golden police looking for two suspects in a shooting that injured one," 4 July 2019 Each time a story is read by the parent, the child will color a portion of the color page. — courant.com, "Community News For The Vernon Edition," 3 July 2019 Mobile phones had these displays, which weren't usually even colored. — Lauren Goode, WIRED, "A Brief History of Smartphone Notifications," 26 June 2019 Then there’s Bebe Chow, Mia’s downtrodden Chinese immigrant co-worker, and Linda McCullough, Elena’s well-to-do childhood friend: another pair forever linked, for whom motherhood is colored by agony. — The Washington Post, The Mercury News, "It’s really all about the moms (and a few spoilers)," 21 June 2019 Elements such as iron and manganese that come in with the water can color the silica, making beautiful patterns of red, brown and black, but sometimes this destroys the details of the woody structure. — Anna K. Behrensmeyer, Smithsonian, "How Do Fossils Form?," 8 June 2019 Together, the brands created a pale pink (ahem, rosé-colored) short PJ set inspired by Summer Water's hue and light-hearted vibe. — Marie Claire, "Summer Water Rosé and Eberjey Partnered to Create the Perfect Summer PJs," 7 June 2019 The plants should color up again starting in late October as the days grow shorter. — Tom Maccubbin, orlandosentinel.com, "Leaving seed pods on canna plants isn’t necessary," 7 June 2019 Our skin is colored in various shades of gray from slate to stormy. — Elizabeth Wellington, https://www.inquirer.com, "Amy Sherald, who painted Michelle Obama’s portrait, designs a mural that turns a Philly teen into her own inspiration | Elizabeth Wellington," 5 June 2019

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

History and Etymology for color

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

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Dictionary Entries near color

Statistics for color

Last Updated

8 Jul 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for color

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

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More Definitions for color

color

noun

English Language Learners Definition of color

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a quality such as red, blue, green, yellow, etc., that you see when you look at something

: something used to give color to something : a pigment or dye

: the use or combination of colors

color

verb

English Language Learners Definition of color (Entry 2 of 2)

: to give color to (something) : to change the color of (something)

: to draw with crayons, markers, colored pencils, etc. : to fill in a shape or picture using markers, crayons, colored pencils, etc.

: to change (someone's ideas, opinion, attitude, etc.) in some way

See the full definition for color in the English Language Learners Dictionary

color

noun

col·or | \ ˈkə-lər

Kids Definition of color

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the appearance of a thing apart from size and shape when light strikes it Red is the color of blood.

2 : skin tone as a mark of race You cannot discriminate on the basis of color.

3 : the rosy tint of a light-skinned person's face They still looked thin and tired, but color had returned to their cheeks.— Mary Pope Osborne, Christmas in Camelot

4 : blush entry 2 sense 1 Her embarrassment showed in the color rising in her face.

5 colors plural : an identifying flag

6 : interest entry 1 sense 2 Details added color to his story.

color

verb

colored; coloring

Kids Definition of color (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : to give color to

2 : to change the color of She colored her hair.

3 : to fill in the outlines of a shape or picture with color

4 : to take on or change color : blush He colored in anger.

5 : influence entry 2 I won't let these rumors color my opinion.

color

noun

col·or

variants: or chiefly British colour \ ˈkəl-ər

Medical Definition of color

1a : 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

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color

noun

col·or

Legal Definition of color

: 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