colour

noun

• 1 [mass noun] the property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way it reflects or emits light:the lights flickered and changed colour
• [count noun] one, or any mixture, of the constituents into which light can be separated in a spectrum or rainbow, sometimes including (loosely) black and white:a rich brown colour a range of bright colours
• the use of all colours, not only black and white, in photography or television:he has shot the whole film in colour [as modifier]:colour television
• rosiness or redness of the face as an indication of health or of embarrassment, anger, etc.:there was some colour back in his face colour flooded her skin as she realized what he meant
• a substance used to give something a particular colour:lip colour
• [count noun] Heraldry any of the major conventional colours used in coats of arms (gules, vert, sable, azure, purpure), especially as opposed to the metals, furs, and stains.
• [count noun] Snooker any of the balls other than the white cue ball and the reds: Hendry potted the last four colours to win 5-4

• 2 [mass noun] pigmentation of the skin, especially as an indication of someone’s race:discrimination on the basis of colour
• [count noun] a group of people considered as being distinguished by skin pigmentation:all colours and nationalities

• 3 [mass noun] vivid appearance resulting from the juxtaposition of many bright things:for colour, plant groups of winter-flowering pansies
• features that lend a particularly interesting quality to something:a town full of colour and character
• variety of musical tone or expression:orchestral colour

• 4 (colours) an item or items of a particular colour worn to identify or distinguish an individual or a member of a group, in particular a jockey or a member of a sports team: it was Devon Loch’s first victory in the colours of his royal owner it will be strange running on to the pitch in another team’s colours
• (also school colours) a badge, cap, or other item in the distinctive colours of a particular school, awarded to a pupil selected to represent the school in a sport.
• chiefly British the flag of a country, or of a regiment or ship: all over the world countries which had long been administered by others were hoisting their own colours the Cheshire Regiment celebrated its tercentenary with a tattoo and the presentation of the new colours

• 5a shade of meaning:many events in her past had taken on a different colour

• 6 [mass noun] Physics a quantized property of quarks which can take three values (designated blue, green, and red) for each flavour.

verb

• 1 [with object] change the colour of (something) by painting, dyeing, or shading it:he coloured her hair with a selection of blonde and brown shades
• [no object] take on a different colour:the foliage will not colour well if the soil is too rich
• fill (a shape or outline) with colour:he hated finger-painting and colouring in pictures
• make vivid or picturesque:he has coloured the dance with gestures from cabaret and vaudeville

• 2 [no object] (of a person or their skin) show embarrassment or shame by becoming red; blush:she coloured slightly
• [with object] cause (a person’s skin) to change in colour:rage coloured his pale complexion
• [with object] (of an emotion) imbue (a person’s voice) with a particular tone:surprise coloured her voice

• 3 [with object] influence, especially in a negative way; distort:the experiences had coloured her whole existence
• misrepresent by distortion or exaggeration:witnesses might colour evidence to make a story saleable