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[kuhl-er] /ˈkʌl ər/
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.
something that is used for coloring; pigment; paint; tint; dye.
  2. nature, viewpoint, or attitude; character; personality:
    His behavior in a crisis revealed his true colors.
  3. a flag, ensign, etc., particularly the national flag.
  4. U.S. Navy. the ceremony of hoisting the national flag at 8 a.m. and of lowering it at sunset.
outward appearance or aspect; guise or show:
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.
Printing. the amount of ink used.
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:
to give a special character or distinguishing quality to:
His personal feelings color his writing.
verb (used without object)
to take on or change color:
The ocean colored at dawn.
to flush; blush:
He colored when confronted with the incriminating evidence.
Thousands are being called to the colors.
change color,
  1. to blush as from embarrassment.
  2. to turn pale, as from fear:
with flying colors. flying colors.
Also, especially British, colour.
1250-1300; Middle English col(o)ur < Anglo-French (French couleur) < Latin colōr- (stem of color) hue
Related forms
colorer, noun
overcolor, verb
precolor, noun, verb
recolor, verb (used with object)
transcolor, adjective
undercolor, noun
Can be confused
color, hue, shade, tint (see synonym study at shade)
23. bias, twist.
Usage note
See black. Unabridged
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Examples from the web for colors
  • Even colors themselves have different perceptions depending on their context and lighting conditions.
  • We use same kind of colors and with almost same frequency in our daily lives.
  • Economics isn't ultimately about pieces of paper of different colors and how many are printed.
  • Favorite of people who are aversive to sharp colors and unambiguous articulations.
  • My comment was that political belief colors one's vision.
  • Additionally, belief seems to be one of the few places where politicians show their true colors.
  • Another way to pale colors in the map is by changing stats on which the colors are based.
  • Kodak could capture the bold vivid colors of the present.
  • The images have exactly the same arrangement of colors and lines as the painting.
  • colors displayed on the website are hopelessly inaccurate.
British Dictionary definitions for colors


noun, verb
the US spelling of colour
Derived Forms
colorable, adjective
colorer, noun
colorful, adjective
coloring, noun
colorist, noun
colorless, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for colors

"flag of a regiment or ship" 1580s, from color (n.).



early 13c., "skin color, complexion," from Old French color "color, complexion, appearance" (Modern French couleur), from Latin color "color of the skin; color in general, hue; appearance," from Old Latin colos, originally "a covering" (akin to celare "to hide, conceal"), from PIE root *kel- "to cover, conceal" (see cell).

For sense evolution, cf. Sanskrit varnah "covering, color," related to vrnoti "covers," and also see chroma. Meaning "visible color, color of something" is attested in English from c.1300. As "color as a property of things," from late 14c. Old English words for "color" were hiw ("hue"), bleo.


late 14c.; see color (n.); earliest use is figurative. Related: Colored; coloring.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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colors in Medicine

color col·or (kŭl'ər)

  1. That aspect of the appearance of objects and light sources that may be specified in terms of hue, lightness, and saturation.

  2. That portion of the visible electromagnetic spectrum specified in terms of wavelength, luminosity, and purity.

  3. The general appearance of the skin.

  4. The skin pigmentation of a person not classified as white.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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colors in Science
  1. 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.

  2. Color charge. See also hadron.

Our Living Language  : When beams of colored light are mixed, or added, their wavelengths combine to form other colors. All spectral colors can be formed by mixing wavelengths corresponding to the additive primaries red, green, and blue. When two of the additive primaries are mixed in equal proportion, they form the complement of the third. Thus cyan (a mixture of green and blue) is the complement of red; magenta (a mixture of blue and red) is the complement of green; and yellow (a mixture of red and green) is the complement of blue. Mixing the three additive primaries in equal proportions reconstitutes white light. When light passes through a color filter, certain wavelengths are absorbed, or subtracted, while others are transmitted. The subtractive primaries cyan, magenta, and yellow can be combined using overlapping filters to form all other colors. When two of the subtractive primaries are combined in equal proportion, they form the additive primary whose wavelength they share. Thus overlapping filters of cyan (blue and green) and magenta (blue and red) filter out all wavelengths except blue; magenta (blue and red) and yellow (red and green) transmit only red; and yellow (red and green) and cyan (blue and green) transmit only green. Combining all three subtractive primaries in equal proportions filters out all wavelengths, producing black. Light striking a colored surface behaves similarly to light passing through a filter, with certain wavelengths being absorbed and others reflected. Pigments are combined to form different colors by a process of subtractive absorption of various wavelengths.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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Slang definitions & phrases for colors



Dress and insignia that identify members of motorcycle clubs and other gangs: Many bars had signs on their doors listing their dress codes or other rules. The phrase ''no colors'' was almost always part of such a list/ I've never seen anything that resembled colors or signs or whatever (1960s+ Motorcyclists)

Related Terms

with flying colors



Interesting background, esp details about players, etc, as used in sports coverage •A scholar in the mid-1920s wrote of color stuff as the enlivening human interest and spicy, inventive language used by sports writers to avoid mere facts: doing color, spoke of a shot put up by one of the players by calling it ''a Perot hook'': in, out, and in/ I told him I need some color for a magazine piece I'm doing (1938+ Media)

Related Terms

off color

Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
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Idioms and Phrases with colors
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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