color
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the specific flag or symbols of a country, a military group, or a sports team.
n.the flag, insignia, or uniform colors identifying a country, military unit, or sports club.
Simple“The soldiers proudly marched past the crowd carrying the regiment's colors.”
In context“The athlete was honored to represent the national colors during the opening ceremony of the international games.”
UsageUsually plural in this sense.
- 02 A1 Beginner
v.to use pens, pencils, or paint to add color to a drawing.
v.to apply color to a surface, especially within the lines of a drawing.
Simple“The children sat quietly on the floor and colored in their books.”
In context“She carefully colored the map, using different shades of green to distinguish the various forest types.”
UsageCan be used with or without a direct object.
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to become red in the face because you are embarrassed or angry.
v.to become flushed or red in the face due to an emotional reaction.
Simple“He began to color when the teacher praised his work in front of the class.”
In context“She felt herself color slightly as the interviewer asked a particularly personal question about her previous employment.”
UsageIntransitive verb.
- 04 C1 Advanced
v.to change the way someone thinks about something, often in a negative way.
v.to influence or distort a person's judgment or opinion.
Simple“Don't let your past bad experiences color your opinion of all new people.”
In context“The witness's testimony was unfortunately colored by her personal dislike of the defendant, making her account less reliable.”
UsageTransitive; usually takes an abstract object like 'judgment' or 'view'.
- 05 A2 Elementary
adj.showing colors rather than just black, white, and gray.
adj.possessing or displaying colors; not monochromatic.
Simple“My grandparents remember when they saw their first color television.”
In context“The archive contains both black-and-white sketches and full-color photographs of the original building site.”
UsageUsually placed before a noun.
SynonymschromaticpolychromeAntonymsmonochromeblack and white
color vs colour — Colour is the standard spelling in British English, while color is the standard spelling in American English.
From Middle English colour, color, borrowed from Anglo-Norman colur, from Old French colour, color, from Latin color. Doublet of couleur. Displaced English blee, Middle English blee (“color”), from Old English blēo. Also partially replaced Old English hīew (“color”) and its descendants (English hue), which is less often used in this sense. The spelling color was popularized in modern American English by Noah Webster, to match the spelling of the word's Latin etymon, and make all American spellings of the derivatives consistent (colorimeter, coloration, colorize, colorless, etc).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.