woman of color

noun

plural women of color
: a woman whose skin pigmentation is other than and especially darker than what is considered characteristic of people typically defined as white (see white entry 1 sense 2a) : a woman who is of a race (see race entry 1 sense 1a) other than white or who is of mixed race
… Sen. Kamala Harris of California, will become the first woman of color to accept a major party's vice presidential nomination on Wednesday.Steve Peoples
In reality the 19th Amendment failed to enfranchise thousands of American women of color—Black, Asian, Latina and Native American.Anna Bloom

Examples of woman of color in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Michelle Wu, a mayor of a major city, and a woman of color, would be a much stronger candidate against Markey than Moulton. Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 16 Oct. 2025 As Black and brown reproductive justice advocates have long pointed out, Roe never served women of color or poor people particularly well because of underlying unequal access to health care. Seda Saluk, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2025 With her directing win, Zhao became the first woman of color to win in the category. Ellise Shafer, Variety, 12 Oct. 2025 James has served as New York State Attorney General since 2019, winning the office in 2018, and is the first woman of color to hold statewide office in New York and the first woman to be elected AG. Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for woman of color

Word History

First Known Use

1791, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of woman of color was in 1791

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Cite this Entry

“Woman of color.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woman%20of%20color. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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