Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: COLOURS

Explore COLOURS Topic

amber bar beige black(a) black(n) black(v) black and white blue(a) blue(n) bold bronze(n) bronze(a) brown(a) brown(n) cherry clear coffee colour cool copper coral cream dun dye ebony fluorescent flush gay ginger gold(n) gold(a) golden green(a) green(n) grey(a) grey(n) indigo ivory jade lemon loud magnolia maroon match neutral olive orange pale peach pink(a) pink(n) plum(n) plum(a) pure purple red(a) red(n) rich rose(n) rose(a) ruby shade silver(n) silver(a) soft tone vibrant violet warm weak white(a) white(n) yellow(a) yellow(n) yellow(v)

Show all entries from Topic: COLOURS

colour

1 noun
     
colour1 S1 W1 British English ; color American English
1

red/blue/green etc

[countable] red, blue, yellow, green, brown, purple etc:
What colour dress did you buy?
What colour are his eyes?
The pens come in a wide range of colours.
light/bright/pastel etc colour
I love wearing bright colours.
reddish-brown/yellowy-green/deep blue etc colour
The walls were a lovely reddish-brown color.
2

colour in general

[uncountable] also colours the appearance of something as a result of the way it reflects (=throws back) light, especially when its appearance is very bright or is made up of a lot of different colours:
Bright bold accessories are the quickest way to add colour to a room.
in colour
The wine was almost pink in colour (=was almost pink).
blaze/riot/mass of colour (=lots of different bright colours)
In summer the gardens are a blaze of colour.
a splash of colour (=a small area of a bright colour)
The sky began to slowly change colour.
the fall colors (=the colours of the trees in autumn)
3

somebody's race

[uncountable and countable]HBH how dark or light someone's skin is, which shows which race they belong to:
Everyone has a right to a job, regardless of their race, sex, or colour.
people of all colors
the continuing battle against colour prejudice
 ➔ coloured2
4

people/women/students etc of color

especially American English people, women etc who are not white:
I'm the only person of color in my class.
5

substance

[uncountable and countable] a substance such as paint or dye that makes something red, blue, yellow etc:
Wash the garment separately, as the colour may run (=come out when washed).
jams that contain no artificial colours or preservatives
lip/nail/eye colour
our new range of eyeshadows and lip colours
6

in (full) colour

AMT a television programme, film, or photograph that is in colour contains colours such as red, green, and blue rather than just black and white [≠ in black and white]:
All the recipes in the book are illustrated in full colour.
7

somebody's face

[uncountable]HBH if you have some colour in your face, your face is pink or red, usually because you are healthy or embarrassed:
You look a lot better today. At least you've got a bit of colour now.
One of the girls giggled nervously as colour flooded her cheeks (=her cheeks suddenly went very pink or red).
He stared at her, the colour draining from his face.
8

something interesting

[uncountable] interesting and exciting details or qualities that someone or something has:
The old market is lively, full of colour and activity.
a travel writer in search of local colour
add/give colour to something (=make something more interesting)
Intelligent use of metaphors can add colour to your writing.
9

lend/give colour to something

to make something, especially something unusual, appear likely or true:
We have new evidence that lends colour to the accusation of fraud.
10

off colour

a) [not before noun] British English someone who is off colour is feeling slightly ill
b) [usually before noun] especially American English off-colour jokes, stories etc are rude and often about sex
11

colours

[plural]
a) the colours that are used to represent a team, school, club, country etc
club/team/school colours
a cap in the team colours
Australia's national colours are gold and green.
b) British English a flag, shirt etc that shows that someone or something belongs to or supports a particular team, school, club, or country
12

see the colour of somebody's money

spoken to have definite proof that someone has enough money to pay for something:
'A whiskey, please.' 'Let's see the color of your money first.'

➔ with flying colours

at flying1 (2)

; ➔ nail your colours to the mast

at nail2 (5)

; ➔ your true colours

at true1 (13)WORD FOCUS: colour WORD FOCUS: colour
a particular kind of colour: shade, hint, hue
words for describing dark colours: dark, deep, rich
words for describing light colours: light, pale, soft, pastel
words for describing bright colours: bright, brilliant, vivid, garish disapproving, gaudy disapproving
having a lot of colours: colourful, multicoloured British English/multicolored American English


Other related topics

  
Word of the Day
The COLOURS
Word of the Day is:
pepper-and-salt