TKG English Learner's Dictionary

color

colornoun

American /ˈkʌl.ɚ/ British /ˈkʌl.ə/
British spelling: colour
plural colors
very commondefining vocabulary

Color is the quality of being red, blue, green, and so on, and every other sense comes from what that quality shows.

  1. red, blue, greenthe quality of being red, blue, yellow, green, and so on

    countable or uncountable [C/U] often before another noun [before noun]

    Collocations

    adjective + noun a bright color, a dark color, a light color, a pale color, a warm color, a rich color
    verb + noun change color, choose a color, match a color, mix colors
    noun + noun color scheme, color photograph, color printer, color chart
    preposition + noun in color
    phrase a splash of color, a range of colors, full of color

    Compare shade (a shade is one particular kind of a color: a darker shade of blue)

  2. of skina person's race, as shown by how light or dark their skin is

    uncountable [U]

    Collocations

    preposition + noun regardless of color, on the basis of color
    phrase the color of someone's skin, race and color

    Compare race

    For translators (sense 2)

    Cultural background This sense is politically sensitive. The adjective colored is offensive when used of people; a person of color is a respectful term in North American use.

  3. in the facethe pink or red look of a healthy, warm, or excited person's face

    uncountable [U]

    Collocations

    noun + verb the color drains from someone's face, the color returns to someone's face, the color rises in someone's cheeks
    verb + noun have some color, put color in someone's cheeks

  4. interestdetails or qualities that make a story, a place, or an event interesting and full of life

    uncountable [U]

    Collocations

    verb + noun add color to something, give something color, bring color to something
    adjective + noun local color

  5. of a teamthe set of shades chosen to stand for a team, club, school, or country, shown on its uniform and its flag

    countable [C] usually plural [usu pl]

    Collocations

    noun + noun team colors, school colors, club colors
    adjective + noun national colors
    verb + noun wear someone's colors

Phrases

show your true colors

show what you are really like, especially when this is worse than people thought

with flying colors

with great success, especially in a test or exam

a person of color politeAmerican

a person who is not white

A respectful term; the plural is people of color. Do not confuse it with colored, which is offensive when used of people.

For translators (phrase)

Cultural background This term is now used across English-speaking countries, though which older words are considered respectful for talking about race still differs from place to place. Colored, once common, is now offensive.

Word family

  • color
  • colorful
  • colorless
  • colored (offensive when used of people)
  • coloring
  • discolor
  • watercolor

Usage

To ask about the color of something, say What color is it?, not What color has it? After a color adjective, the noun color is not needed: a red car, not a red color car. Do not describe a person as colored; the adjective is offensive. A person of color is a respectful term for someone who is not white, used mainly in North America.

Common mistakes

What color has your car? What color is your car?
English uses be, not have, to ask about the color of something.
She wore a blue color dress. She wore a blue dress.
A color adjective stands alone before the noun; do not add the word color after it.

For translators

Meaning across languages Languages divide the colors differently: some have one word for blue and green, others split blue into two basic colors. The sense for skin and race, and the sense for interest and life (local color), may need different words from the basic sense.
Grammar trap Both countable and uncountable: a bright color, but in color and full of color. Ask What color is it?; English does not use have here. Do not add the word color after a color adjective: a red car, not a red color car.
Cultural background In the United States color often means race, and the words around it are sensitive: colored is offensive, while a person of color is respectful and current. In sport, a team's colors are the colors of its uniform and its flag.
Pronunciation trap Two syllables with the stress on the first; the o is the vowel of cup, not of coat: KUL-er. The British spelling colour does not change the sound.