trichromatic

adjective

tri·​chro·​mat·​ic ˌtrī-krō-ˈma-tik 

1

: of, relating to, or consisting of three colors

trichromatic light

2

a

: relating to or being the theory that human color vision involves three types of retinal sensory receptors

b

: characterized by trichromatism

trichromatic vision

Examples of trichromatic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Like most primates, humans are trichromatic—that is, our eyes have three types of color-sensitive receptors or cones: blue, green, and red. —Virginia Morell, National Geographic, 15 June 2020

About 30 million years ago, one of our primate ancestors’ cones split into two — red- and green-detecting — which, together with the existing blue-detecting cone, give us trichromatic vision. —Quanta Magazine, 12 July 2016

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1890, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

trichromatic

adjective

tri·​chro·​mat·​ic ˌtrī-krō-ˈmat-ik 

1

: of, relating to, or consisting of three colors

trichromatic light

2

a

: relating to or being the theory that human color vision involves three types of retinal sensory receptors

b

: characterized by trichromatism

trichromatic vision