dye

 
Pronunciation: /dʌɪ/

noun

[mass noun]
  • a natural or synthetic substance used to add a colour to or change the colour of something: blonde hair dye [count noun]: a black dye

verb (dyes, dyeing, dyed)

[with object]
  • add a colour to or change the colour of (something) by soaking it in a solution impregnated with a dye: [with complement]: I dyed my hair blonde (as adjective dyed) dyed black hair
  • [no object] take colour well or badly during the dyeing process: it’s good material—it should dye well

Phrases

dyed in the wool

unchanging in a particular belief or opinion; inveterate: she’s a true blue dyed-in-the-wool Conservative
[with allusion to the fact that yarn was dyed in the raw state, producing a more even and permanent colour]

Derivatives

dyeable

adjective

Origin:

Old English dēag (noun), dēagian (verb). The noun is not recorded from Old English to the late 16th century, when it was re-formed from the verb

Spelling rule

Verbs ending in -oe, -ee, and -ye keep the final -e when adding -ing: (dyes, dyeing, dyed).