palette

noun

pal·​ette ˈpa-lət 

1

: a thin oval or rectangular board or tablet that a painter holds and mixes pigments on

2

a

: the set of colors put on the palette

b(1)

: a particular range, quality, or use of color

The designer's palette consisted mostly of earth tones.

(2)

: a comparable range, quality, or use of available elements

a rich palette of tones and timbres

a palette of flavors

a palette of vegetables

Examples of palette in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This is the palette of the machine-made, that which is inhuman, and Duchamp would drive the point home in Coffee Mill (1911), a tiny painting of a grinder that expels a cascade of brown beans. —Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 8 Apr. 2026

But Comey has thrived, refining her own particular jolie laide aesthetic, with its offbeat palettes and silhouettes and emphasis on texture. —Maya Singer, Vogue, 8 Apr. 2026

The rooms The 106 rooms were given an autumnal, woody touch with a period-appropriate color palette—dull green, bronze, chocolatey brown, ochre, dusty white and terracotta—that feels at once fresh and nostalgic. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Apr. 2026

Kathryn Murphy, the founder of Kathryn Murphy Interiors in Oak Park, Illinois, did just that in this rich blue laundry room, all while maintaining a cohesive color palette throughout. —Lindsey Mather, Architectural Digest, 7 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French, from Middle French, diminutive of pale spade, from Latin pala; probably akin to Latin pangere to fix — more at pact

First Known Use

1622, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing palette

• palette knife

Rhymes for palette

• alate
• ballot
• fallot
• mallet
• palate
• pallet
• shallot

Kids Definition

palette

noun

pal·​ette ˈpal-ət 

1

: a thin usually oval board or tablet with a hole for the thumb at one end used by a painter to lay and mix pigments on

2

: the colors put on the palette