- present participle of color.
coloring
AmericanUsage
Spelling tips for coloring The word coloring is hard to spell for two reasons. First, it can be tempting to use a double l or double r. Second, in British English, the word is spelled with a u (colouring), unlike in American English. How to spell coloring: When it comes to color, keep it simple. Too much color, and too many letters, is distracting. You don't need any extra letters, like a double l, double r, or u. Then, you add the suffix -ing to the base word color to form coloring.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of coloring
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at color, -ing 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Many contain artificial sweeteners, coloring agents, and other ingredients rarely used in home cooking.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026
Fire salamanders are among Europe's most recognizable amphibians, known for their striking black and yellow coloring and the poisonous substances they release to deter predators.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2026
Food and Drug Administration, which asked companies to more quickly remove red dye No. 3 — a similar synthetic food coloring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
The grounds crew let the grass grow out more than usual to start to get the coloring to fade, an employee said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
He used to take some of the cornstalks that Jenna’s father gave us and make tie-dyed patterns on the corn with food coloring.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
If the Renaissance had been known as the Resurrection, might we be more aware of the period’s metaphysical colorings?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2025
Examples that can be found around us include various amino acids, including monosodium glutamate, food proteins, enzymes, flavoring compounds, food colorings, and bioactive substances.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 12, 2024
Those concerns have began to spur the demand for natural colorings — and there was Mexico’s cochineal dye all along.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 1, 2023
But other times, whole passages unfolded in swaths of milky colorings.
From New York Times ● Sep. 19, 2021
But to the south and eastward it swept on and out, astonishing in its apparent smoothness, its lavish colorings.
From Bruce of the Circle A by Harold Titus
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