red ocher

noun

: a red earthy hematite used as a pigment

Examples of red ocher in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Roughly 43,000 years ago, a Neanderthal man dipped his finger in red ocher and painted a nose on a rock that looked like a human face. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 June 2025 But Taylor makes Hammons even more remarkable, taking Hammons back to his symbolic roots — in front of the red ocher facade of the Great Mosque at Djenné in Mali — with a grinning hyena nearby. Roberta Smith, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2023 The barge skippers are highly competitive, in their own way, but their race is now largely about the preservation of British tradition, recalling a time when thousands of these craft plied the River Thames, transporting cargo — coal, barley, rubbish — under red ocher sails. William Booth, Washington Post, 24 July 2023 At least 45,500 years old, archaeologists identified the warty pig in the artwork as such due to its hornlike protrusions; the red ocher-colored scene features three pigs altogether, with one possibly observing a fight between its two companions. Jacqui Palumbo, CNN, 10 Dec. 2021 See All Example Sentences for red ocher

Word History

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of red ocher was in 1572

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Cite this Entry

“Red ocher.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/red%20ocher. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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