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color
1[kuhl-er]
noun
the quality of an object or substance with respect to light reflected by the object, usually determined visually by measurement of hue, saturation, and brightness of the reflected light; saturation or chroma; hue.
the natural appearance of the skin, especially of the face; complexion.
She has a lovely color.
a ruddy complexion.
The wind and sun had given color to the sailor's face.
a blush.
His remarks brought the color to her face.
vivid or distinctive quality, as of a literary work.
Melville's description of a whaling voyage is full of color.
details in description, customs, speech, habits, etc., of a place or period.
The novel takes place in New Orleans and contains much local color.
something that is used for coloring; pigment; paint; tint; dye.
background information, as anecdotes about players or competitors or analyses of plays, strategy, or performance, given by a sportscaster to heighten interest in a sportscast.
colors,
any distinctive color or combination or pattern of colors, especially of a badge, ribbon, uniform, or the like, worn or displayed as a symbol of or to identify allegiance to, membership in, or sponsorship by a school, group, or organization.
nature, viewpoint, or attitude; character; personality.
His behavior in a crisis revealed his true colors.
a flag, ensign, etc., particularly the national flag.
U.S. Navy.the ceremony of hoisting the national flag at 8 a.m. and of lowering it at sunset.
skin complexion as a characteristic of a particular people or ethnic group, especially when other than white: a person of color; a man of color; children of color.
one's religion and color;
a person of color;
people of color;
a man of color;
alumni of color;
children of color.
outward appearance or aspect; guise or show.
It was a lie, but it had the color of the truth.
a pretext.
She did it under the color of doing a good deed.
Painting.the general use or effect of the pigments in a picture.
Phonetics.timbre.
Chiefly Law.an apparent or prima facie right or ground.
to hold possession under color of title.
Music.tone color.
a trace or particle of valuable mineral, especially gold, as shown by washing auriferous gravel.
Physics.any of the labels red, green, or blue that designate the three states in which quarks are expected to exist, or any of the corresponding labels for antiquark states.
Printing.the amount of ink used.
Heraldry.a tincture other than a fur or metal, usually including gules, azure, vert, sable, and purpure.
adjective
involving, utilizing, yielding, or possessing color.
a color TV.
verb (used with object)
to give or apply color to; tinge; paint; dye.
She colored her hair dark red.
to cause to appear different from the reality.
In order to influence the jury, he colored his account of what had happened.
Synonyms: ,to give a special character or distinguishing quality to.
His personal feelings color his writing.
color.
2abbreviation
(in prescriptions) let it be colored.
color
/ ˈʌə /
noun
the US spelling of colour
color
The sensation produced by the effect of light waves striking the retina of the eye. The color of something depends mainly on which wavelengths of light it emits, reflects, or transmits.
Color charge.
See also hadron
Usage
Spelling Note
Other 51Թ Forms
- colorer noun
- overcolor verb
- precolor noun
- recolor verb (used with object)
- transcolor adjective
- undercolor noun
- ˈDZǰ adjective
- ˈDZǰڳܱ adjective
- ˈDZǰ adjective
- ˈDZǰ noun
- ˈDZǰ noun
- ˈDZǰԲ noun
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of color1
Origin of color2
A Closer Look
Idioms and Phrases
call to the colors, to summon for service in the armed forces.
Thousands are being called to the colors.
change color,
to blush as from embarrassment.
to turn pale, as from fear.
When he saw the size of his opponent, he changed color.
with flying colors. flying colors.
of color, belonging to a racial or ethnic group that is not white and generally not associated with European descent or not characterized by slight or light pigmentation of the skin; nonwhite.
Women of color have higher gendered wage gaps than white women.
The program is aimed at supporting children of color with an interest in acting.
People of color are often underrepresented in the sciences.
Example Sentences
As the incident continued, he said: “These guys, literally based off of skin color! My homie was born here!”
In an America that has long weaponized descriptions of how men of color look and move to justify use of force, that is especially true of dark men lunging at white women.
“They just look at our colors, our nationalities, and they’re just profiling people,” she said.
We’re a little slower, a little less energetic and the years show on our faces as well in the color and/or lack of hair.
She wasn’t convinced by the initial pitch at first because sci-fi hasn’t traditionally had a lot of major roles for actors of color.
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When To Use
The word color is hard to spell for two reasons. First, it can be difficult to remember whether there is one l or two. Second, in British English, the word is spelled with a u (colour), unlike in American English. How to spell color: When it comes to color, keep it simple. Too many colors, and too many letters, is distracting. You don't need an extra l or u.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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