yellow

SayYEL-oh/ˈjɛl.oʊ//ˈjɛl.əʊ//ˈjel.əʉ/

Adjectiveyellower, yellowest

Noun pluralyellows

Verbyellows, yellowing, yellowed

14 meanings of yellow

Practice

1
sunflower-coloredadjective
Having the bright color of lemons, sunflowers, and ripe bananas.
Like the color of a banana or a school bus.
She wore a yellow raincoat on the cloudy morning.
The yellow school bus stops outside our house every morning.
UsageSay bright yellow or pale yellow.
Note
2
nouncountable or uncountable
The bright color of lemons, sunflowers, and school buses.
Like the color of a ripe banana.
Yellow is her favorite color for summer clothes.
The artist mixed a little blue into the yellow to make green.
UsageSay dressed in yellow.
Note
3
change colorverbintransitive
To turn yellow, or make something turn yellow, often because it is old.
Like old paper that slowly changes color in the sun.
Old newspapers begin to yellow at the edges.
The pages of the book had started to yellow after many years.
UsageSay the paper yellowed with age.
Similardiscolor
Note
4
warning cardnouncountable
A warning card that a referee shows a player for breaking the rules.
Like a warning before a bigger punishment.
The referee gave him a yellow for the late tackle.
She picked up a yellow in the first half of the match.
UsageA player gets a yellow.
Similarbooking, caution
Note
5
East Asian (slur)adjectivederogatoryethnicoffensiveslur
A rude, offensive word for people from East Asia, such as China or Japan.
Newspapers stoked fear of a yellow invasion from across the ocean.
Harsh laws of the time targeted yellow laborers arriving by ship.
UsageSeen in old phrases like yellow peril. Do not use it about people.
Note

Less common meanings

6
traffic lightnounUScountable or uncountable
The middle traffic light, which warns drivers to stop if they can do so safely.
Like a warning that something is about to change: get ready to stop.
Slow down and get ready to stop when you see the yellow.
He raced through the yellow before it changed to red.
UsageSay go through the yellow.
Similaramber
7
cowardlyadjectivecolloquial
Too afraid to do something brave, or cowardly.
Like someone who hides instead of facing a problem.
Everyone called him yellow for running from the fight.
Don't be so yellow. Just tell her the truth.
UsageAn insult; often too yellow to do something.
Similarcowardly
Oppositebrave, courageous, bold, fearless
Note
8
sensationaladjective
Using shocking or exaggerated stories that may not be true, just to sell more copies.
Like a story that is mostly made up just to get attention.
The yellow newspaper printed wild stories to sell more copies.
Our teacher said yellow journalism cares more about sales than truth.
UsageSay yellow journalism.
Similarsensationalist, sensational, lurid
Oppositeobjective, sober
Note
9
light-skinnedadjectiveoffensivedatedUS
Light-skinned, used of a Black person who also has some white family background, now old-fashioned.
Charley threw her over for a yellow gal named Nancy: he never forgave Vashti for the vanishing from his life of a menace that had come to mean more to him than Vashti herself.
1933, James Thurber, “My Life and Hard Times—VI. A Sequence of Servants”Here, yellow means light-skinned, used of a Black woman with some white ancestry.
UsageSay light-skinned or of mixed race instead.
Note
10
snooker (2 points)nouncountable
A yellow ball in snooker or pool.
He potted the yellow to begin clearing the colors.
She needed the yellow and the green to win the frame.
UsageSay pot the yellow.
Note
11
butterflynouncountable
A small butterfly with butter-colored wings, often seen in fields and gardens.
Like a tiny butterfly the color of butter.
A yellow fluttered past us as we crossed the meadow.
We watched several yellows settle on the clover.
UsageSay a clouded yellow.
Note
12
Liberal DemocratadjectiveUK
Linked to a political party that uses yellow as its color, like Britain's Liberal Democrats.
Like wearing a team's colors to show which side you support.
My grandfather has voted yellow, for the Liberal Democrats, all his life.
The town has been a yellow seat for many years.
UsageSay a seat turned yellow.
Note
13
adjectiveoffensivedatedAustralia
Of mixed Aboriginal and white family background, now seen as offensive.
"Eh, Oscar—you hear about your yeller nephew?".
1938, Xavier Herbert, CapricorniaHere, yeller means of mixed Aboriginal and white background, a word now offensive.
A big full-blood gin cottoned onto me. “Give us a drink, yeller feller.”
1965, Mudrooroo, Wild Cat FallingHere, yeller means of mixed Aboriginal and white background, a word now offensive.
UsageSay of Aboriginal and white family background, or Aboriginal if the person calls themselves that.
Note
14
interjection
Said during sex to ask for a short break, without stopping completely.

Practice

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

Origin

From Old English 'geolu', meaning yellow, going back through old Germanic roots to an ancient word meaning 'gleam' or 'yellow'. The verb comes from the adjective.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

Yellow descends from Old English geolu. en.wiktionary.org
Geolu meant yellow and has Germanic and Indo-European ancestry. en.wiktionary.org
The ancient ancestry has been described in terms of shining or yellow. refubium.fu-berlin.de
The verb derives from the adjective. en.wiktionary.org