dye

American  

[dahy] / daɪ /

noun

dyes plural

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.

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verb (used with object)

dyes, present (3rd person singular) dyed, past participle, past dyeing present participle

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)

dyes, present (3rd person singular) dyed, past participle, past dyeing present participle

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.

idioms

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

   a prevaricator of the blackest dye.

dye British  

/ 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

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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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dyes
  plural

Participles

• dyeing
  present
• dyed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• dye
  simple
• dyes
  simple
• have dyed
  perfect
• has dyed
  perfect
• am dyeing
  progressive
• are dyeing
  progressive
• is dyeing
  progressive
• have been dyeing
  perfect progressive
• has been dyeing
  perfect progressive

Past

• dyed
  simple
• had dyed
  perfect
• was dyeing
  progressive
• were dyeing
  progressive
• had been dyeing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will dye
  simple
• will have dyed
  perfect
• will be dyeing
  progressive
• will have been dyeing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of dye

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

Explanation

Dye is a substance that's used to change the color of whatever it's applied to. You can use hair dye to change your light brown hair to deep, dark purple. Dye is used on fabrics, hair, yarn and other fibers, clothing, and food, among other things. When you apply dye to something, you dye it. If you're baking a birthday cake for your friend who loves the color orange, you might use food coloring — a type of dye — to dye the vanilla frosting orange. The Old English root of dye is deah, "a color or hue," which is possibly related to deagol, "secret, hidden, or dark."

Example Sentences

Using X-ray imaging and contrast dye for guidance, doctors advance a tiny catheter through the femoral artery until it reaches the genicular arteries around the knee.

From Science Daily • Jun. 23, 2026

Nature produces few truly blue plants and minerals, making blue the holy grail of natural food dyes, said Paul Manning, chief executive of dye manufacturer Sensient Technologies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026

“If you try and get the food dye, the food coloring right now, it’s very hard to achieve,” said Jesse Spellman, the co-owner of Utopia Bagels.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026

The findings will also guide future dye tracing experiments.

From Science Daily • Jun. 2, 2026

You can't dye me to fit your pleasure.

From "Watch Us Rise" by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan

Related Words

• pigment
• stain
• tint