( BrE ) ( NAmE color ) / ˈkʌlə(r); NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
RED, GREEN, etc.
1.
[ C , U ] the appearance that things have that results from the way in which they reflect light. Red, orange and green are colours :
What's your favourite colour?
bright / dark / light colours
available in 12 different colours
the colour of the sky
Her hair is a reddish-brown colour.
to add / give / lend colour to sth (= make it brighter, more interesting, etc.)
Foods which go through a factory process lose much of their colour, flavour and texture.
The garden was a mass of colour.
2.
[ U ] (usually before another noun) the use of all the colours, not only black and white :
a colour TV
colour photography / printing
a full-colour brochure
Do you dream in colour ?
OF FACE
3.
[ U ] a red or pink colour in sb's face, especially when it shows that they look healthy or that they are embarrassed :
The fresh air brought colour to their cheeks.
Colour flooded her face when she thought of what had happened.
His face was drained of colour (= he looked pale and ill) .
OF SKIN
4.
[ U , C ] the colour of a person's skin, when it shows the race they belong to :
discrimination on the grounds of race, colour or religion
( especially NAmE )
a person / man / woman of colour (= who is not white)
SUBSTANCE
5.
[ C , U ] a substance that is used to give colour to sth :
a semi-permanent hair colour that lasts six to eight washes
—see also watercolour
INTERESTING DETAILS
6.
[ U ] interesting and exciting details or qualities :
The old town is full of colour and attractions.
Her acting added warmth and colour to the production.
—see also local colour
OF TEAM / COUNTRY, etc.
7.
colours [ pl. ] the particular colours that are used on clothes, flags, etc. to represent a team, school, political party or country :
Red and white are the team colours.
Spain's national colours
( figurative )
There are people of different political colours on the committee.
8.
colours [ pl. ] ( especially BrE ) a flag, badge , etc. that represents a team, country, ship, etc. :
Most buildings had a flagpole with the national colours flying.
sailing under the French colours
•
IDIOMS
- see the colour of sb's money
—more at flying adjective , lend noun , nail verb , true adjective
—see also off colour
■ verb
PUT COLOUR ON STH
1.
to put colour on sth using paint, coloured pencils, etc. :
[ v ]
The children love to draw and colour.
a colouring book (= with pictures that you can add colour to)
[ vn ]
How long have you been colouring (= dyeing ) your hair?
[ vn - adj ]
He drew a monster and coloured it green.
OF FACE
2.
[ v ] colour (at sth) ( of a person or their face ) to become red with embarrassment
SYN blush :
She coloured at his remarks.
AFFECT
3.
[ vn ] to affect sth, especially in a negative way :
This incident coloured her whole life.
Don't let your judgement be coloured by personal feelings.
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- colour sth in
••
SYNONYMS
colour
shade ♦ tone ♦ hue ♦ tint ♦ tinge
All these words describe the appearance of things, resulting from the way in which they reflect light.
colour / color
the appearance that things have, resulting from the way in which they reflect light. Red, green and blue are colours:
What's your favourite colour?
•
bright / dark / light colours
shade
a particular form of a colour, especially when describing how light or dark it is. Sky blue is a shade of blue
tone
a particular shade of a colour:
a carpet in warm tones of brown and orange
shade or tone?
Tone is often used in the plural to refer to small differences in the quality of a colour. You can say:
shades of brown
but not: brown shades , and:
brown tones
but not: tones of brown .
hue
( literary or technical ) a colour or a particular shade of a colour:
His face took on an unhealthy, whitish hue.
colour or hue?
Colour is more general and far more frequent in everyday language.
tint
a shade or small amount of a particular colour; a faint colour covering a surface:
leaves with red and gold autumn tints
tinge
a small amount of a colour:
There was a pink tinge to the sky.
tint or tinge?
These two words are very similar when describing a small amount of a colour. You can say :
a reddish tint / tinge
or:
a tinge of red
but not: a tint of red . Tint is often used in the plural, but tinge is almost always singular.
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old French colour (noun), colourer (verb), from Latin color (noun), colorare (verb).