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

See Examples For:

dye dyes dyed dyeing

Ruisard said the only difference in the diesel used by truck drivers and everyday consumers and the tax-free red dye diesel is the dye itself.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Residual dye lingers in tanks and fuel systems, Neuman said, adding that “even trace amounts in clear diesel can bring IRS and state penalties outside the waiver window.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

"Think of these elements, which originated from the galaxies' stars, as food dye dropped into a cup of water," said Zhu.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

We used to dye our hair and use food color to make the colors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

Amber had brown hair, which she said she was going to dye blond when she turned sixteen.

From "Kira-Kira" by Cynthia Kadohata

Traditionally, Japanese convenience stores have also required workers to adhere to relatively conservative dress codes, including bans on certain hair dyes and large earrings.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

In-N-Out Burger this week announced several menu changes in line with a recent push to reduce use of artificial dyes and processed ingredients.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Mundhe has enforced bans on using newspapers to wrap food, synthetic dyes and banned analogue paneer - non-dairy cottage cheese substitutes.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

She marked the cells with different fluorescent dyes and then isolated those that reacted to activin.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026

Same hairstyle that he dyes a different color for each Hunger Games.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

That could mean there’s limited upside to selling dyed fuel into highway vehicles, she said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

"I dyed my hair and skin and reduced my clothing to tatters. I carried my stuff in sacks."

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

I dyed it for a while when I started seeing a fair amount of gray coming in.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

The hand-spun yarn dyed in natural colours is woven on handlooms, packing in between 300 and several thousand knots per square inch, depending on the intricacy of the design.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

“Why’d you have your hair dyed blue on the first day of school?”

From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez

Launching into the world of modeling soon after, she divorced her husband and made a history-defining decision: dyeing her brown hair platinum blonde.

From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026

The researchers hope their findings will encourage more thorough testing of clothing before it reaches consumers and push manufacturers to adopt safer alternatives during the dyeing process.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 2, 2026

When John commands Cal to cut his long hair, Cal rebels by dyeing it platinum and trimming it into a chin-length bob.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026

I could try to combat inescapable existential dread by dyeing my hair.

From Salon ● Dec. 22, 2025

I gave one to Rontu and on the way back to the canoe gathered purple sea urchins to use for dyeing.

From "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell

Related Words

• pigment
• stain
• tint