colour

colour¹ W1S1 BrE color AmE [ˈkʌlə US -ər] n

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1¦(red/blue/green etc)¦

2¦(colour in general)¦

3¦(somebody's race)¦

4 people/women/students etc of color

5¦(substance)¦

6 in (full) colour

7¦(somebody's face)¦

8¦(something interesting)¦

9 lend/give colour to something

10 off colour

11 colours

12 see the colour of somebody's money

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1.) ¦(RED/BLUE/GREEN ETC)¦

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)¦[U]

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)¦ [U and C]

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 AmE people, women etc who are not white

▪ I'm the only person of color in my class.

5.) ¦(SUBSTANCE)¦ [U and C]

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

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)¦[U]

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)¦[U]

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 sth

(=make something more interesting)

▪ Intelligent use of metaphors can add colour and style to your writing.

9.) lend/give colour to sth

to make something, especially something unusual, appear likely or true

▪ We now have independent evidence that lends colour to the accusation of fraud.

10.) off colour

a) [not before noun] BrE

someone who is off colour is feeling slightly ill

b) [usually before noun] especially AmE 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 peaked cap in the team colours

▪ Australia's national colours are gold and green.

b) BrE 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 sb'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)

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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 (BrE) multicolored (AmE)

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colour ²

colour² v BrE color AmE

1.) [T]

to change the colour of something, especially by using ↑dye

▪ If I didn't colour my hair I'd be totally grey.

▪ Colour the icing with a little green food colouring.

colour sth red/blue etc

▪ Sunset came and coloured the sky a brilliant red.

2.) [I and T] also colour in

to use coloured pencils to put colours inside the lines of a picture

▪ On the back page is a picture for your child to colour in.

▪ She has no idea how to colour a picture - she just scribbles all over it.

3.) [i]literary

when someone colours, their face becomes redder because they are embarrassed

= ↑blush

▪ Her eyes suddenly met his and she coloured slightly.

4.) colour sb's judgement/opinions/attitudes etc

to influence the way someone thinks about something, especially so that they become less fair or reasonable

▪ In my position, I can't afford to let my judgement be coloured by personal feelings.

colour ³

colour³ adj BrE color AmE

colour television/photograph/printer etc

a colour television, photograph etc that produces or shows pictures in colour rather than in black, white, and grey

→↑black and white

▪ a large color TV

▪ Please ask for our free colour brochure.