# pink

Pronunciation: say "PINGK" /pɪŋk/

## Adjective

1. Pale red in color, as flushed cheeks or undercooked meat can be.
   - Simple: Of a pale red color, somewhere between red and white.
   - _The chicken was still pink in the middle, so we put it back in the oven._
   - _Her cheeks flushed pink in the cold morning air._
4. Associated with women or girls, especially in marketing and social roles. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Connected with women or girls, often shown by the color pink.
   - _Despite her degree, she felt trapped in the pink ghetto of low-paid office jobs usually given to women._
   - _Many parents now skip the pink aisle and let their daughters choose toys from anywhere in the store._
5. Relating to gay people considered as a community within society. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Connected with gay people considered as a group in society.
   - _Travel companies have long competed for the pink dollar, advertising resorts that welcome gay couples._
   - _Businesses began courting the pink economy seriously in the 1990s._
7. Sympathetic to socialist ideas while stopping short of full socialism or communism.
   - Simple: Liking some socialist ideas, but not fully socialist or communist.
   - _The newspaper dismissed the professor as merely pink rather than genuinely red._
   - _Her pink leanings showed in her steady support for nationalized healthcare._
16. Of a fox hunter's jacket: scarlet in color.
   - Simple: Bright red, said of a fox hunter's riding coat.
   - _A row of pink coats lined up at the meet on a crisp morning._
   - _Her pink hunting jacket had once belonged to her grandfather._

## Noun

2. A color between red and white, ranging from pale red to bright reddish purple.
   - Simple: A pale red color, or a bright reddish-purple one.
   - _She chose a warm pink for the walls of the spare room._
   - _The artist blended white into red until she had the gentle pink she wanted._
6. Any of various flowers of the genus Dianthus, often pink in color and sometimes called carnations.
   - Simple: A garden flower of the genus Dianthus, often pink and closely related to the carnation.
   - _The cottage garden was full of fragrant pinks all through June._
   - _He planted a pink near the gate for its clove-like scent._
8. Another word for pinko: a person with left-wing or socialist views, used as an insult. *(colloquial, US)* — Alternative form of pinko.
   - Simple: Another word for pinko: an insulting name for someone with left-wing or socialist views.
   - _Critics on the right dismissed the columnist as a pink with no love for the free market._
   - _He resented being labeled a pink simply for joining the union._
9. Slang for the vulva or vagina. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A crude slang word for a woman's sex organs.
   - _In the crude jargon of adult magazines, the raunchier titles were the ones willing to show pink._
   - _The producers agreed to trim the nude scene so that it showed no pink and could get a wider release._
11. In snooker, the pink-colored ball, valued at six points.
   - Simple: In snooker, the ball colored pink, worth six points.
   - _He sank the pink with a confident long shot down the cushion._
   - _Missing the pink left his opponent an easy clearance._
15. Scarlet, the traditional color of the coats worn by fox hunters.
   - Simple: The bright red color of the coats that fox hunters traditionally wear.
   - _A field of riders in pink set off across the frosty fields._
   - _Tradition reserves the pink for those who have earned their colors with the hunt._
17. A huntsman; a person who takes part in a hunt, especially on horseback.
   - Simple: A person who hunts, especially one who rides after foxes.
   - _The pink urged his horse over the hedge as the hounds streamed ahead._
   - _At dawn the pinks assembled outside the manor for the meet._

## Verb

3. To become pink, or to make something pink.
   - Simple: To turn pink, or to make something turn pink.
   - _As the sun rose, the snow on the mountaintops slowly pinked, then turned gold._
   - _His ears pink whenever someone teases him in public._
10. To decorate clothing or fabric by punching small holes in it or by cutting its edge into scallops.
   - Simple: To decorate cloth by cutting small holes or a zigzag edge into it.
   - _Dressmakers often pink the raw edges before sewing in the lining._
   - _She pinked the edges of the felt hearts to give each one a neat zigzag border._
12. Of a motor car engine, to emit a high pinging noise, usually caused by incorrectly set ignition timing for the fuel being used.
   - Simple: Of a car engine, to make a sharp, high knocking sound, often because the timing is set wrong.
   - _Engines running on low-grade gas tend to pink under heavy load._
   - _The motor pinked badly until the mechanic adjusted the timing._
13. To hurt or wound a person through irony, criticism, or ridicule.
   - Simple: To hurt someone's feelings with sharp words or mockery.
   - _The critic pinked the young author with a single cutting line._
   - _She could pink an opponent with irony and never raise her voice._
14. To turn a topaz or other gemstone pink by applying heat.
   - Simple: To heat a gemstone such as topaz until it turns pink.
   - _Some gem treaters pink golden-brown topaz by heating it gently, turning it the rosy shade that buyers prize._
   - _The lapidary pinked the rough topaz before cutting it._
19. To prick or stab someone with the point of a sword.
   - Simple: To stab someone lightly with the point of a sword.
   - _He pinked his rival neatly through the sleeve and drew first blood._
   - _A skilled fencer can pink an adversary without causing serious harm._
20. Of a musical instrument, to produce a very high-pitched, brief note.
   - Simple: Of a musical instrument, to make a very high, short sound.

## Noun

18. The most perfect example of something; the embodiment of a quality at its finest. *(dated)*
   - Simple: The best or most perfect example of something.
   - _The old gentleman remained the pink of courtesy even in defeat._
   - _With its clipped hedges and spotless gravel paths, the old garden was the very pink of perfection._
21. A small stab wound or puncture caused by a slender, sharp implement or, by extension, a bullet. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A small hole or stab made by something sharp, such as a sword or dagger.
22. A scallop, or a small ornamental hole or eyelet pierced in a garment, as with a pinking iron. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A small decorative hole, or a wavy cut along an edge, made in a piece of clothing.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A relatively prosperous member of the middle class who is uneducated and uncultured.
- (noun) The common minnow, a small freshwater fish (Phoxinus phoxinus).
- (noun) An Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in its parr stage, the young river-dwelling stage before it becomes a smolt.
- (noun) Any of several yellow, yellowish green, or brown lake pigments or dyes made by fixing a plant colorant on a metallic oxide base.
- (noun) A small sailing vessel with a narrow, tapering stern.
- (verb) To shut and open the eyes quickly, or to wink.
- (adjective) Of the eyes, partly closed, as if blinking or squinting.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–9, 11, 14–18** — The color is named after the garden flowers called pinks (Dianthus), which had the name in the 16th century, about a century before the color did. The flower name itself is uncertain, perhaps from the verb pink, 'to cut a zigzag edge,' for the frilled petals, or from Dutch pinken, 'to blink.'
**Meanings 10, 13, 19, 21–22** — Most likely the word is imitative at bottom. It may instead come from a Low German source or from Dutch pingelen, meaning to do fine needlework. For comparison, Low German has pinken ("hit, peck") and Pinke ("big needle").
**Meanings 12, 20** — Onomatopoeic, comparable to ping.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pink (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).