color

KUL-ur/ˈkʌl.ɚ/KUL-uh/ˈkʌl.ə/

Pluralcolors

Verbcolors, coloring, colored

UK spellingcolour

29 meanings of color

Practice

1
visible huenouncountable
Red, blue, green, yellow and so on, as you see them on things or in light.
Like sorting crayons into groups: all the red ones together, all the blue ones together.
Red is her favorite color of all.
The shirt comes in every color you can imagine.
UsageSay what color, and a shirt in blue.
Similarhue, shade, tint, tone
2
skin tonenoununcountable
A person's skin tone, often seen as a sign of their race.
People of every color attended the festival together.
She wanted to be judged by her work, not her color.
UsageOften because of their color. Use it with care.
Similarcomplexion, race, ethnicity
Note
3
noununcountable
Shades like red, blue, and green, rather than only black, white, and gray, as in photos, films, or TV.
Like the difference between a rainbow and an old black-and-white photo.
This screen shows pictures in color, not just in black and white.
Add some color to the drawing instead of leaving it gray.
UsageSay in color.
4
verbtransitive
To give something color, often by using dye or paint.
Like dropping food dye into icing to turn it green.
She colored the eggs bright pink for the party.
You can color the water with a few drops of dye.
Similarpaint, dye, tint, stain, tinge
Oppositebleach
5
fill in drawingsverbintransitive
To fill the shapes in a line drawing with crayons or colored markers.
Like filling in a shape with crayons until no white is left.
The children colored quietly for an hour.
He likes to color while music plays in the background.
UsageSay color in the picture, and color within the lines.
Note
6
kind of imageadjective
Showing real colors, not just black, white, and gray.
Like seeing a movie in full color instead of in old gray tones.
Most homes now have a color television.
He prefers color film to black-and-white.
UsageSay a color TV or color photos.
Oppositemonochrome, black-and-white
Note
7
nouncountable
The special shade or shades that stand for a school, team or club, often worn by its players or fans.
On game day the whole town wears the team's colors, blue and gold.
Our school color is maroon, so the band uniforms are maroon too.
UsageSay the team's colors or school colors.
8
nouncountable or uncountable
A paint or coloring material that an artist puts on a surface.
Like the tubes of paint an artist blends together.
The children dipped their brushes into the little pots of color.
She squeezed some color straight onto the canvas.
Similarpaint, pigment, dye
9
lively detailnounfigurativelycountable or uncountable
Lively detail that makes a story or place more interesting and fun.
Like spices that turn a plain meal into something exciting.
The guide added a lot of local color to the tour.
Her stories always have so much color and life.
UsageOften local color.
Similarflavor, life, vividness, richness, interest
Oppositedullness, blandness
Note

Less common meanings

10
nouncountable or uncountable
How pink, red, or pale a person's face or skin looks, showing health or feelings.
Like the pink glow on cheeks after running in cold air.
A healthy color returned to her cheeks after the soup.
The cold air gave his face a rosy color.
UsageSay the color came back to her face.
Similarcomplexion, flush, glow
Oppositepallor, paleness
Note
11
verbintransitive
To turn red in the face as blood rushes to the skin.
Like a face turning pink with embarrassment.
She colored when he complimented her in front of everyone.
His cheeks color whenever he feels embarrassed.
UsageIt means blush: she colored with shame.
Similarblush
Oppositepale, blanch
Note
12
influenceverbtransitive
To affect something, such as a story or an opinion, without changing it completely.
Like a drop of dye that tints water without filling it.
His bad mood colored the whole meeting.
Fear can color the way we see danger.
UsageSay colored by something: colored by his mood.
Similarinfluence, affect
13
describe asverbcolloquialtransitive
To describe someone or something as having a certain quality.
Like calling someone brave because of one bold act.
Color me impressed by all of your hard work.
You cleaned your room without being asked? Color me shocked.
UsageSay color me surprised to mean I am surprised.
Similarcall
Note
14
nouncountable or uncountableplural
A flag that stands for a country, army group, or team.
Like a team's special flag that shows who they belong to.
Each regiment carries its own color onto the parade ground.
The sailors lowered their colors before surrendering the ship.
Similarbanner, standard
Note
15
gang clothingnouncountable or uncountableplural
Clothing or items worn to show which gang a person belongs to.
Like a team shirt, but it tells everyone which gang you are in.
The school does not allow students to wear gang colors.
The two gangs fought over who could fly their colors on the block.
Similarinsignia, badge, patch
Note
16
sound qualitynouncountable or uncountable
The special quality of a sound that makes it different, like the sound of a voice or instrument.
Like how the same tune sounds warm on a cello but bright on a trumpet.
The composer added flutes to give the music a brighter color.
Each instrument brings its own color to the song.
Similartimbre, tone, character, quality
Note
17
pretextnouncountable or uncountable
Something that looks true or lawful but is really an excuse or a cover.
Like wearing a fake badge so people think you are allowed to act.
The officers took the car under color of law, but the court said they had no right to it.
His order had only the color of authority, not the real power behind it.
Similarpretext, guise, semblance, pretense, appearance
Note
18
sports awardnounBritishIrelandcountable or uncountableplural
A prize given for doing very well in a sport at a school or college.
Like a medal you earn for being great at a sport.
She earned a half color for tennis after winning every match that year.
Only the best players on the team were given their colors.
Note
19
snookernouncountable or uncountable
In snooker, one of the balls that is not red, like the yellow, green, or black ball.
After potting a red, the player must pot a color.
He lined up the black, the highest color on the table.
Oppositered
Note
20
noun
A morning event on a military base where the flag is raised.
21
verb
To give colors to the points or areas of a graph or map so that connected ones never match.
22
noun
In heraldry, one of the darker shades like blue, red, black, or green used on a coat of arms.
23
noun
A special property of tiny particles called quarks, with three types named red, green, and blue.
24
noun
How light or dark a block of printed text looks on the page overall.
25
noun
Tiny bits of gold found in dirt or gravel while prospecting.
26
noun
In finance, a number showing how fast an option's gamma changes as time passes.
27
nounslang
In wrestling shows, blood on a wrestler during a match.
28
verb
To make a pipe turn dark by smoking it a lot.
29
verb
To change how a speech sound sounds.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of color apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It came from Latin 'color', through Old French and Anglo-Norman, into English. The American spelling 'color' was made popular by Noah Webster to match the Latin word.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

English color derives from Latin color through Old French and Anglo-Norman. en.wiktionary.org
Noah Webster popularized the spelling color in American English. en.wikipedia.org
Webster promoted color to match its Latin source word. en.wiktionary.org