dye

[dahy]

noun

1. a coloring material or matter.

2. a liquid containing coloring matter, for imparting a particular hue to cloth, paper, etc.

3. color or hue, especially as produced by dyeing.

verb (used with object)

dyed, dyeing 

1. to color or stain; treat with a dye; color (cloth, hair, etc.) with a substance containing coloring matter.

   to dye a dress green.

2. to impart (color) by means of a dye.

   The coloring matter dyed green.

verb (used without object)

dyed, dyeing 

1. to impart color, as a dye.

   This brand dyes well.

2. to become colored or absorb color when treated with a dye.

   This cloth dyes easily.

dye

/ daɪ /

noun

1. a staining or colouring substance, such as a natural or synthetic pigment

2. a liquid that contains a colouring material and can be used to stain fabrics, skins, etc

3. the colour or shade produced by dyeing

verb

1. (tr) to impart a colour or stain to (something, such as fabric or hair) by or as if by the application of a dye

Other Word Forms

• dyer noun
• dyable adjective
• dyeable adjective
• redye verb (used with object)
• undyable adjective
• undyed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dye¹

before 1000; Middle English dien, Old English dēagian, derivative of dēag a dye

Word History and Origins

Origin of dye¹

Old English dēagian, from dēag a dye; related to Old High German tugōn to change, Lettish dūkans dark

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. of the deepest / blackest dye, of the most extreme or the worst sort.

   a prevaricator of the blackest dye.

Example Sentences

Their vibrant colors are also achieved using fruit juice and spirulina extract, not artificial food dyes.

Read more on Salon

To overcome this problem, the team used automated glycan assembly to create a sugar tagged with two fluorescent dyes.

Read more on Science Daily

One grad student recently shared her plan to dye her hair pink for a career fair.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Health and Human Services Department and Food and Drug Administration unveiled measures to eliminate petroleum-based synthetic dyes in food, including Red 40, Yellow 5 and 6, Green 3, and Blue 1 and 2.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

She got her hair done—a cut just above the shoulder, a dark mahogany dye job and a blow out—at the facility’s prisoner-run salon where inmates can earn credit toward cosmetology certificates.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• pigment 
• stain 
• tint