albino

American  

[al-bahy-noh, -bee-] / ælˈbaɪ noʊ, -ˈbi- /

noun

albinos plural

1. a person with pale skin, light hair, pinkish eyes, and visual abnormalities resulting from a hereditary inability to produce the pigment melanin.

2. an animal or plant with a marked deficiency in pigmentation.

3. Philately. an embossed stamp accidentally left without ink.

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albino British  

/ ˌælbɪˈnɒtɪk, ælˈbiːnəʊ, ælˈbɪnɪk, ˈælbɪˌnɪzəm /

noun

1. a person with congenital absence of pigmentation in the skin, eyes, and hair

2. any animal or plant that is deficient in pigment

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albino Scientific  

/ ăl-bī′nō /

1. An organism lacking normal pigmentation or coloration. Animals that are albinos lack pigmentation due to a congenital absence of melanin. In humans and other mammals, albinos have white hair, pale skin, and usually pinkish eyes. Plants that are albinos lack normal amounts of chlorophyll or other pigments.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• albinism
  noun
• albinal
  adjective
• albinic
  adjective
• albinotic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• albinos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of albino

1770–80; < Portuguese, equivalent to alb ( o ) white (< Latin albus ) + -ino -ine ¹

Explanation

An albino is someone who is born with an absence of skin and hair pigmentation. This usually results in an albino having pale hair, eyes, and skin. Some people who are considered to be albinos find the term offensive, although there are many different opinions about this in the community. For most people with albinism — or lack of pigmentation — if the word albino is used respectfully, it's perfectly acceptable. The disorder is genetic, and it can affect just the eyes, or the eyes and the skin. The word albino has a Latin root, albus, or "white."

Example Sentences

Appeared in the September 17, 2025, print edition as 'How an Albino Alligator Became An Obsession Inside an AI Giant'.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 16, 2025

In June, Albino reunited with his family in California, his niece Alida Alequin, a 63-year-old Oakland resident, told the Bay Area newspaper.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 21, 2024

Albino bison are also different from white or tan bison that result from crossing bison with white cattle, particularly Charolais.

From Science Daily • Nov. 20, 2023

Albino elephants are usually dubbed white elephants, symbols of good luck in several Southeast Asian cultures.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 23, 2023

The suspense was awful; but if it seemed long to Veneda before he was lying stretched on the roof, what an eternity must it have been to the miserable Albino crouched in the room below!

From In Strange Company A Story of Chili and the Southern Seas by Boothby, Guy Newell