palette

play

noun pal·ette \ ˈpa-lət \

Definition of palette

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

See palette defined for English-language learners

See palette defined for kids

Recent Examples of palette from the Web

The palette of ideas accumulated by designers with the Beyond the Loop project gives options ranging from leaving the North Loop mostly intact to breaking it down to street level thoroughfares with opportunities for new development and green spaces.

— joe robertson, kansascity, "Your turn: Online survey seeks reviews on potential remake of KC’s North Loop and O’Neil Bridge," 23 Aug. 2017
The crew painted the walls in a bold pink-blue-green palette and decked it out with pink Acapulco chairs and a portrait of Frida Kahlo.

— julia kramer, Bon Appetit, "Kemuri Tatsu-Ya Is the #8 Best New Restaurant in America 2017," 15 Aug. 2017
Azul Azul draws from a diverse, global sonic palette to create her distinctive music, which fuses tribal rhythms with modern grooves.

— brittany martin, Los Angeles Magazine, "The 10 Bands You Don’t Want to Miss at Echo Park Rising This Year," 11 Aug. 2017
The beauty giant teamed up with megapopular beauty blogger Shayla Mitchell in the launch of a new eye-shadow palette and three mascaras.

— ashley weatherford, The Cut, "Maybelline Teamed Up With Your Favorite Beauty Blogger for a Glamorous Collection," 10 Aug. 2017
Last month, Storybook Cosmetics released an eyeshadow palette with shades channeling all of your favorite moments from the film, and last year, Jeffree Star launched a hot-pink highlighter named after North Shore High School's queen bee.

— andrea park, Teen Vogue, ""Mean Girls"-Themed Makeup Brushes Debut from Spectrum," 20 July 2017
In true Marc Jacobs fashion, these palettes pop with colors, from azure-blue to fuchsia-pink—but don’t let that dissuade you.

— vanityfair.com, "A Few of the Summer’s Best New Beauty Products," 17 July 2017
Many backgrounds are colored with unexpected, complementary palettes (pink sky, purple trees) and traced in outlines that are slightly off-registration and rough.

— josh kramer, The Atlantic, "The Hidden Message in the Architecture of Steven Universe," 12 July 2017
Jorge was all for it, and supplied an enormous makeup palette to get the transformation going.

— caroline picard, Good Housekeeping, "Mom Helps Son Fulfill His "RuPaul's Drag Race" Dreams," 7 July 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of palette

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1622

See Words from the same year

Other Fine Arts Terms

Gothic, baroque, bas-relief, limn, oeuvre, pastiche, rococo, sfumato

PALETTE Defined for English Language Learners

palette

play

noun

Definition of palette for English Language Learners

: a thin board that has a hole for the thumb at one end and that is used by a painter to mix colors while painting
: the range of colors used by someone

PALETTE Defined for Kids

palette

play

noun pal·ette \ ˈpa-lət \

Definition of palette for Students

1 :a thin board or tablet on which a painter puts and mixes colors

2 :the set of colors that an artist is using

Learn More about palette

See words that rhyme with palette Spanish Central: Translation of palette Nglish: Translation of palette for Spanish speakers

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palette

Definition of palette

Recent Examples of palette from the Web

Origin and Etymology of palette

Other Fine Arts Terms

PALETTE Defined for English Language Learners

palette

Definition of palette for English Language Learners

PALETTE Defined for Kids

palette

Definition of palette for Students

Learn More about palette

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palette

Definition of palette

From the M-W Editors

Recent Examples of palette from the Web

Origin and Etymology of palette

Other Fine Arts Terms

PALETTE Defined for English Language Learners

palette

Definition of palette for English Language Learners

PALETTE Defined for Kids

palette

Definition of palette for Students

Learn More about palette

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