orange

noun or·ange \ ˈär-inj , ˈär(-ə)nj ; chiefly Northern & Midland ȯr-inj , ˈȯr(-ə)nj \

|Updated on: 8 Jul 2018

Definition of orange

1 a : a globose berry with a yellowish to reddish-orange rind and a sweet edible pulp

He peeled an orange.

b : any of various small evergreen citrus trees (genus Citrus) with glossy ovate leaves, hard yellow wood, fragrant white flowers, and fruits that are oranges

2 : any of several trees or fruits resembling the orange

3 : any of a group of colors that are between red and yellow in hue

Orange is about midway between red and yellow in hue.

See orange defined for English-language learners

See orange defined for kids

Recent Examples of orange from the Web

For the campaign, Jeremy painted Gigi with blue body paint and styled her in a structured orange Moschino dress featuring a funnel neck color.

— amira rasool, Teen Vogue, "Critics Are Calling Out Jeremy Scott for Moschino's "Alien Nation" Campaign," 26 June 2018
Remove the zest of the oranges in strips with a vegetable peeler.

— daniel neman, sacbee, "Main dishes? Fruit is not forbidden," 26 June 2018
President Barack Obama decided to have some fun with an orange-faced reality star.

— stephen a. crockett jr., The Root, "How LaVar Ball’s Junior Basketball Association Has Become the Donald Trump of Roundball Leagues," 26 June 2018
Swanepoel wrote atop the image, drawing an orange neon heart around the sweet bonding moment.

— jen juneau, PEOPLE.com, "Victoria's Secret Angel Candice Swanepoel Welcomes Son Ariel: 'He Couldn't Be More Perfect'," 24 June 2018
The green-arrow path goes to Las Olas Boulevard, orange stands for Flagler Village, blue leads to the Riverwalk and pink heads to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts and other cultural sights.

— meryl kornfield, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Brightline train stations boost new development in South Florida's downtowns," 3 July 2018
One of them is Alex, an American citizen like most children in the trailer park, with a wardrobe of Cleveland Cavaliers T-shirts and frosted tips dyed orange at the barbershop inside Walmart.

— eli saslow, Anchorage Daily News, "Raids are separating families in the heartland," 1 July 2018
The brothers had run out of lime, strawberry and even the dreaded orange.

— deborah levy, The Cut, "The Cost of Living," 1 July 2018
Whenever the buzzer vibrated or the lightbulb changed color from orange to red, I was supposed to click the button on my finger.

— fredrick kunkle, ajc, "I took AAA's distracted driving road test. It wasn't pretty.," 29 June 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of orange

Middle English, from Anglo-French orrange, araunge, from Old Occitan auranja, from Arabic nāranj, from Persian nārang, from Sanskrit nāraṅga orange tree

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1532

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

Other Food Terms

Reuben, calamari, chuck, curry, edamame, foie gras, hummus, leaven, nonpareil, peel

orange

adjective

Definition of orange

1 : of or relating to the orange

2 : of the color orange

Recent Examples of orange from the Web

The orange grove next to Ms Mahfouz’s home was chopped down to make way for apartment blocks.

— The Economist, "NGOs in Lebanon want to dig up mass graves from the civil war," 5 July 2018
Ben and his family were fans of the Miami Dolphins, KIRO reports, and during the vigil relatives released aqua and orange balloons representing the team colors, which those in attendance also wore, according to the Chronicle.

— adam carlson, PEOPLE.com, "Slain Boy's Father Sat Front Row in Court to Face Accused Murderers: 'I Wanted Them to Look at Me'," 5 July 2018
Simon Dawson—Reuters President Donald Trump’s upcoming trip to London will be overshadowed by a monstrous balloon hovering over the U.K. Parliament, depicting him as a growling, orange infant.

— monica rodriguez, Fortune, "Massive 'Trump Baby' Blimp to Fly Over London During President's Visit," 5 July 2018
With classic notes of petrol and lime, plus orange zest, lemon, ripe red apple and lively acidity, this wine was racy and refreshing.

— michael austin, chicagotribune.com, "Explore Michigan's diverse wine scene, one of the country's most exciting developing regions," 5 July 2018
London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Thursday authorized the 19-foot-high orange balloon's flight path during Trump's three-day visit to the U.K. that begins July 13.

— kim hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, "Diaper-clad 'Trump Baby' blimp to fly over London during president's visit," 5 July 2018
Detectives say Marlene Warren, 40, answered the door to her home in the Aero Club community on May 26, 1990, to accept a bouquet and two balloons from a clown wearing an orange wig, a red bulb nose, gloves and a smile painted on its white face.

— chuck weber, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Evidence photos shed light on notorious killer clown case," 4 July 2018
Bengals’ orange The Bengals’ uniforms are too busy, but the orange alternates are the least busy of the entire set. 19.

— steven ruiz, For The Win, "Every NFL team's best alternate uniform, ranked," 3 July 2018
Remember the signature orange cow and that savory, creamy taste that once had more than 20 locations splattered around town?

— maggie menderski, The Courier-Journal, "OMG. It's hot outside. So here are 5 new places to beat the heat.," 3 July 2018

Origin and Etymology of orange

see ¹orange

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1542

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Color Terms

argentine, cerise, cerulean, cyan, ocher, perse, puce, taupe, vermilion

Orange

adjective

Definition of Orange

: of, relating to, or sympathizing with Orangemen

—

Orangeism

play \ˈär-in-ˌji-zəm, ˈär(ə-)n-, ˈȯr-in-, ˈȯr(ə-)n-\ noun

First Known Use of orange

1795

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Orange

geographical name Or·ange \ ˈär-inj , ˈär(-ə)nj , ˈȯr-inj , ˈȯr(-ə)nj \

Definition of Orange

1 city in southwestern California north of Santa Ana population 136,416

2 river 1300 miles (2092 kilometers) long in southern Africa flowing from the Drakensberg Mountains in Lesotho west into the Atlantic Ocean

Orange

geographical name \ ȯ-ˈräⁿzh \

Definition of Orange

city in southeastern France north of Avignon population 29,135

ORANGE Defined for English Language Learners

orange

noun

Definition of orange for English Language Learners

: a citrus fruit that is round and that has an orange skin
: a color between red and yellow that is like the color of fire and carrots

ORANGE Defined for Kids

orange

noun or·ange \ ˈȯr-inj \

Definition of orange for Students

1 : a color between red and yellow : the color of a carrot

2 : a sweet juicy citrus fruit with orange colored rind that grows on an evergreen tree with shining leaves and fragrant white flowers

Medical Dictionary

orange

noun or·ange \ ˈär-inj , ˈȯr- \

medical Definition of orange

1 a : a globose berry with a yellowish to reddish orange rind and a sweet edible pulp

b : any of various rather small evergreen trees (genus Citrus) with ovate leaves, hard yellow wood, fragrant white flowers, and fruits that are oranges

2 often capitalized : agent orange