colour

Universal Words (BrE) (AmE color) 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 more colourful) * 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 in every room * 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 AmE) 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 seealsoWATERCOLOUR interesting details 6 [U] interesting and exciting details or qualities: The old town is full of colour, character and attractions. * Her acting added warmth and colour to the production. seealsoLOCALCOLOUR 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 off colour [notbeforenoun] (BrE, informal) 1 not in good health; looking or feeling ill: Jo seems a little off colour today. 2 [usuallybeforenoun] (especially AmE) an off-colour joke is one that people think is rude, usually because it is about sex see the colour of sb's money (especially spoken) to make sure that sb has enough money to pay for sth: You need to see the colour of his money before you sell him the car. moreatNAILv., TRUEadj., FLYINGadj. 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 (= dying) your hair? * [VN-ADJ] He drew a monster and coloured it red. of face 2 [V] ~ (at sth) (written) (of a person or their face) to become red with embarrassment SYNBLUSH: 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. PHRASALVERBS colour sth<->in to put colour inside a particular area, shape, etc. using coloured pencils, CRAYONS, etc: I'll draw a tree and you can colour it in.