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• amber
  amber

  noun

  a pale yellow, sometimes reddish or brownish, fossil resin of vegetable origin, translucent, brittle, and capable of gaining a negative electrical charge by friction and of being an excellent insulator: used for making jewelry and other ornamental articles.
• Amber
  Amber

  noun

  a first name.

amber

¹ American  

[am-ber] / ˈæm bər /

noun

• ambers
  plural

1. a pale yellow, sometimes reddish or brownish, fossil resin of vegetable origin, translucent, brittle, and capable of gaining a negative electrical charge by friction and of being an excellent insulator: used for making jewelry and other ornamental articles.

2. the yellowish-brown color of resin.

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adjective

1. of the color of amber; yellowish-brown.

   amber fields of grain.

2. made of amber.

   amber earrings.

Amber ² American  

[am-ber] / ˈæm bər /

noun

1. a first name.

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amber British  

/ ˈæmbə /

noun

1. 1. a yellow or yellowish-brown hard translucent fossil resin derived from extinct coniferous trees that occurs in Tertiary deposits and often contains trapped insects. It is used for jewellery, ornaments, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      an amber necklace

2. a strange relic or reminder of the past

3. 1. a medium to dark brownish-yellow colour, often somewhat orange, similar to that of the resin

   2. ( as adjective )

      an amber dress

4. an amber traffic light used as a warning between red and green

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amber Scientific  

/ ăm′bər /

1. A hard, translucent, brownish-yellow substance that is the fossilized resin of ancient trees. It often contains fossil insects.

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Closer Look

Certain trees, especially conifers, produce a sticky substance called resin to protect themselves against insects. Normally, it decays in oxygen through the action of bacteria. However, if the resin happens to fall into wet mud or sand containing little oxygen, it can harden and eventually fossilize, becoming the yellowish, translucent substance known as amber. If any insects or other organisms are trapped in the resin before it hardens, they can be preserved, often in exquisite detail. By studying these preserved organisms, scientists are able learn key facts about life on Earth millions of years ago.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• amberlike
  adjective
• amberous
  adjective
• ambery
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ambers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of amber

1350–1400; Middle English ambre < Old French < Medieval Latin ambra < Arabic ʿanbar ambergris; confusion of the dissimilar substances perhaps because both were rare, valuable, and found on seacoasts

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Explanation

Amber is a brownish yellow color. Many cats have green eyes but those with amber eyes are likely to have yellow or white fur. Amber is also a translucent golden or honeyed-yellow colored gemstone, often used to make jewelry. That's where the color amber gets its name. Amber comes from the ocean floor — most of it is harvested from the Baltic Sea off the coast of Russia. The most likely origin of amber is the Latin word for "bitter," amarus, as the color yellow was often associated with bitterness and envy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

amber Amber ambers

Researchers used the instrument to produce high-resolution images of smaller bones, amber and fossilized scales.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026

In the sealed amber world of the Woodstock era, liberation is all.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

The blue-lit monotony of every day is replaced by warm amber table lamps and dimly lit corners flanked by books on all sides.

From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026

The museum's collection, which dates back to around 1,000 BC, is mainly gold items, but there are also pieces of silver, iron and amber.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Vivi comes in, carrying a wooden plate with a sandwich on it, along with a stoppered bottle of amber glass.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

Busfield’s attorney, Amber Fayerberg, said her client was “relieved and grateful,” but acknowledged the legal fight might continue.

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026

Newlyweds Amber and Nathan Cooper spent all their wedding present money on a £7,000 Citroen C4 to take them on their dream honeymoon.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

Eighth grade teacher Melody Stambaugh speaks with eighth grader Amber during their morning meeting at Scholarship Prep - South Bay.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

The island later served as the setting for Depp and now-ex-wife Amber Heard’s wedding celebrations in 2015.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

"I just don't think it should be you, Amber, just because you always do everything you're told."

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

I would swim early in the morning when the water was still or late at night as the sun set, casting stunning ambers and pinks streaks through the sky.

From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2025

The sunrise ambers and midnight blues of Joshua Cutts’s lighting design illuminate Michael’s states of mind as much as they do time and place.

From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2023

The set design by Clint Ramos and Miguel Urbino emphasizes depth of field, its white framework a receptive canvas for Linda Cho’s refined midcentury costumes and the warm ambers of David Weiner’s lighting.

From New York Times ● Jun. 22, 2023

Dark reds, purples and maroons, peacock-green, olive-green, ambers, violet, rose pink, with pearls, amber, topaz, ruby, garnet, diamonds.

From Social Life or, The Manners and Customs of Polite Society by Maud C. Cooke

When the great South African sun rose and flooded the veld with miraculous liquid ambers and flaming, melted rubies, the deep, wide grave at last was done.

From The Dop Doctor by Richard Dehan

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