colour

noun

/ˈkʌlə(r)/

/ˈkʌlər/

(US English color)

Idioms

red, green, etc.颜色

[countable, uncountable] the appearance that things have that results from the way in which they reflect light. Red, orange and green are colours.颜色；色彩

What's your favourite colour?你最喜欢的颜色是什么？
bright/vibrant/bold colours明亮/鲜艳/醒目的颜色
She always wears dark colours.她总是穿深色衣服。
I'd like to paint this room in a lighter colour.我想把这个房间漆成浅色。
a warm colour palette (= the range of colours used for something)暖色调
available in 12 different colours有 12 种不同的颜色可供挑选
the colour of the sky天空的颜色
skin/hair colour皮肤/头发颜色
in colour red/green/blue, etc. in colour红色/绿色/蓝色等。彩色的
Her hair is a reddish-brown colour.她的头发是棕红色的。
The stage lights changed colour from red to blue.舞台灯光从红色变成了蓝色。
Foods which go through a factory process lose much of their colour, flavour and texture.经过工厂加工的食品会在色泽、味道和口感方面大受损失。

see also complementary colour, primary colour

Synonyms colourcolour

shade
hue
tint
tinge

These words all describe the appearance of things, resulting from the way in which they reflect light.

colour
the appearance that things have, resulting from the way in which they reflect light. Red, green and blue are colours:
- What’s your favourite colour?你最喜欢什么颜色？
- bright/dark/light colours鲜艳的／深／浅颜色
shade
a particular form of a colour, especially when describing how light or dark it is. Sky blue is a shade of blue:
- Her eyes were a delicate shade of green.她的眼睛是淡绿色的。
hue
(literary or technical) a colour or a particular shade of a colour:
- His face took on an unhealthy, whitish hue.他的脸上透出一丝病态的苍白。
tint
a shade or small amount of a particular colour; a faint colour covering a surface:
- leaves with red and gold autumn tints金秋时节略呈红黄色的树叶
tinge
a small amount of a colour:
- There was a pink tinge to the sky.天空略带一点淡淡的粉红色。

tint or tinge?用 tint 还是 tinge？You can say: a reddish tint/tinge or: a tinge of red but not: a tint of red . Tint is often used in the plural, but tinge is almost always singular.Patterns

a warm/rich colour/shade/hue/tint
a bright/vivid/vibrant/dark/deep colour/shade/hue
a pale/pastel/soft/subtle/delicate colour/shade/hue
a light/strong/neutral/natural colour/shade

Dark colours suit you best.深色最适合你。
Green is a good colour on you.绿色很适合你。
I like to wear bright colours.我喜欢穿得鲜艳。
Simple patterns and solid colours are particularly effective.简单的图案和单纯的颜色搭配效果特别好。
The chameleon changes colour to match its surroundings.变色龙变换颜色以适应环境。
The curtains went a strange orange colour when we washed them.窗帘经我们洗后变成了一种怪异的橙色。
The flowers are pale blue in colour.这些花是淡蓝色的。
The garden is a riot of colour in spring.春天的花园里五彩缤纷。
The leaf colour ranges from dark green to almost brown.树叶色彩丰富，从深绿到近乎棕色都有。
The scarf is available in six different colours.这款围巾有 6 种颜色可供选择。
What is her natural hair colour?她的自然发色是什么色？
Your shirt matches the colour of your eyes.你的衬衫和你眼睛的颜色很相配。
cool colours like blue and gray蓝色和灰色之类的冷色
the intense colour of new leaves新叶子的深色
The garden was a mass of colour.花园里五彩缤纷。

Topics Colours and Shapesa1

Collocations Dictionaryadjective

bold
bright
brilliant
…

… of colour/color

dash
flash
splash
…

verb + colour/color

change
add
match
…

colour/color + verb

match (something)
clash
fade
…

colour/color + noun

combination
range
scheme
…

preposition

in colour
in a colour

phrases

a combination of colours
a range of colours

[uncountable] (usually before another noun通常用于另一名词前) the use of all the colours, not only black and white彩色

the introduction of colour television in the UK in 19671967年英国引进彩色电视
colour photographs彩色照片
a colour printer彩色打印机
a full-colour brochure彩色小册子
in colour Do you dream in colour?你的梦是彩色的吗？

of skin皮肤

[uncountable, countable] the colour of a person’s skin, when it shows the race they belong to（人种的）肤色

Discrimination on the grounds of race, religion or colour was outlawed.以种族、宗教信仰或肤色为理由的歧视是违法的。
of colour (especially North American English) a person/man/woman of colour (= who is not white)有色人种的人／男子／女子
people of all ages, genders, creeds and colours 各种年龄、性别、信仰和肤色的人

to discriminate on the basis of colour基于肤色的歧视
people of colour有色人种

Topics People in societya2

Collocations Dictionarycolour/color + noun

bar
barrier

preposition

of colour

phrases

on the basis of colour
on (the) grounds of colour

of face面孔

[uncountable] a red or pink colour in somebody’s face, especially when it shows that they look healthy or that they are embarrassed（尤指脸色的）红润，粉红；（尴尬时的）脸红

The fresh air brought colour to their cheeks.新鲜空气使他们的脸颊红润。
Colour flooded her face when she thought of what had happened.她想起发生的事情，脸涨得通红。
His face was drained of colour (= he looked pale and ill).他脸上毫无血色。

Gradually the colour returned to his cheeks.他的双颊慢慢恢复了血色。
His face drained of all colour.他面无血色。
I could feel the colour rush to my cheeks.我感觉到我的脸刷地红了。
The colour drained from her face when she saw him.她看见他时脸色变得苍白。
The colour rose in his face.他脸泛红晕。
The walk brought colour to her face.散步使她脸上有了红晕。
You could tell she was excited by the heightened colour in her cheeks.从她绯红的面颊可以看出她很兴奋。
You have a bit more colour in your cheeks now.现在你的脸色好一点了。

Collocations Dictionaryadjective

heightened
high
faint
…

verb + colour/color

have
bring
be drained of
…

colour/color + verb

flood something
rise
rush
…

substance物质

[countable, uncountable] a substance that is used to give colour to something颜料；染料

a semi-permanent hair colour that lasts six to eight washes经得起洗涤六至八次的半永久性染发剂
This colour runs, so wash the shirt separately.这颜色会掉，把这件衬衫单独洗。

interesting details有趣的细节

[uncountable] interesting and exciting details or qualities趣味；乐趣

The old town is full of colour and attractions.这座古城姿彩纷呈，引人入胜。
Her acting added warmth and colour to the production.她的表演给这出戏增添了生气和趣味。
to add/give/lend colour to something (= make it brighter, more interesting, etc.)给某物增色

of team/country, etc.队、国家等

colours

[plural] the particular colours that are used on clothes, flags, etc. to represent a team, school, political party or country（用于服装、旗帜等代表团队、学校、政党或国家的）色彩

Red and white are the team colours.红白两色是这支队的队服色。
Spain’s national colours西班牙国旗的颜色
(figurative) There are people of different political colours on the committee.委员会由来自不同政党的成员组成。

colours

[plural] (especially British English) a flag, badge, etc. that represents a team, country, ship, etc.（代表团队、国家、船等的）旗帜，徽章

Most buildings had a flagpole with the national colours flying.大多数的建筑物都有悬挂着国旗的旗杆。
sailing under the French colours挂法国国旗航行

Topics Transport by waterc2

词源Middle English: from Old French colour (noun), colourer (verb), from Latin color (noun), colorare (verb).

Idioms

lend colour to something

(British English, formal) to make something seem true or likely使显得真实（或可能）
- Most of the available evidence lends colour to this view.现有的大部分证据支持这个观点。
Topics Doubt, guessing and certaintyc2

nail your colours to the mast

(especially British English) to say publicly and clearly what you believe or who you support公开宣称；公开表态

see the colour of somebody’s money

(informal) to make sure that somebody has enough money to pay for something确定某人有支付能力
- You need to see the colour of his money before you sell him the car.在你把车卖给他之前，你需要看一看他的钱的颜色。

your true colours

(often disapproving) your real character, rather than the one that you usually allow other people to see本性；本来面目
- It was only after they got married that he showed himself in his true colours.直到他们结婚后，他才露出了原形。

with flying colours

very well; with a very high mark很好；成绩优异
- She passed the exam with flying colours.她以优异成绩通过了考试。

colour

verb

/ˈkʌlə(r)/

/ˈkʌlər/

(US English color)

动词形式

present simple I / you / we / they colour	/ˈkʌlə(r)/ /ˈkʌlər/
he / she / it colours	/ˈkʌləz/ /ˈkʌlərz/
past simple coloured	/ˈkʌləd/ /ˈkʌlərd/
past participle coloured	/ˈkʌləd/ /ˈkʌlərd/
-ing form colouring	/ˈkʌlərɪŋ/ /ˈkʌlərɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs

put colour on something着色

[intransitive, transitive] to put colour on something using paint, coloured pencils, etc.（用颜料、彩色笔等）为…着色

The children love to draw and colour.儿童喜欢画画和涂颜色。
colour something How long have you been colouring (= dyeing) your hair?你染发有多长时间了？
colour something + adj. He drew a monster and coloured it green.他画了一个怪物，把它涂成绿色。

He drew a monster and coloured it red.他画了一个怪物，并把它涂成红色。
The children love drawing and colouring.孩子们喜欢画画和涂颜色。
a colouring book涂色画册

Topics Colours and Shapesb1

of face面孔

[intransitive] colour (at something) (of a person or their face

人或其面孔

) to become red because the person is embarrassed （因尴尬而）脸红synonym blush

Everyone in the room stared at Gerry, and he coloured slightly.房间里的每个人都盯着格里看，他的脸微微地红了。
colour at something She coloured at his remarks.她听到他的话脸红了。
colour up He grinned at Mary, who coloured up instantly.他朝玛丽咧嘴一笑，玛丽的脸一下子红了。

affect影响

[transitive] colour something to affect something, especially in a negative way（尤指负面地）影响

This incident coloured her whole life.这事件影响了她的一生。
Don't let your judgement be coloured by personal feelings.不要让你的判断受到个人感情的影响。

His opinions are heavily coloured by his own experiences.他的观点深受个人经历的影响。
Statements are always coloured by their context.语句总是受上下文的影响。
Such incidents tend to colour public attitudes towards the police.这类事件往往会影响公众对警察的态度。
The experience moulded and coloured her whole life.这次经历影响了她一生。

词源Middle English: from Old French colour (noun), colourer (verb), from Latin color (noun), colorare (verb).