three-color
Americanadjective
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having or characterized by the use of three colors.
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noting or pertaining to a photomechanical process for making reproductions of paintings, artwork, etc., usually by making three printing plates, each corresponding to a primary color, by the halftone process, and printing superimposed impressions from these plates in three correspondingly colored inks.
Etymology
Origin of three-color
First recorded in 1890–95
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.
They mulled launching a three-color mix, with red, orange and yellow M&M’s, but the sunset vibes were too strong.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
This method works best for carving shaded or three-color patterns.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 17, 2022
In the main gallery, three gorgeous monochromes — by Ellsworth Kelly, Katharina Fritsch and Paul Sietsema — play off of a three-color close-up of a car’s trunk and bumper, precisely painted by Peter Cain.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2016
He started testing the first three-color traffic lights.
From New York Times ● Jan. 4, 2016
While many subjects may be reproduced accurately by this process, yet the three-color process seems inadequate to give perfectly satisfactory results in all cases.
From The Building of a Book A Series of Practical Articles Written by Experts in the Various Departments of Book Making and Distributing by Hitchcock, Frederick H.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
