Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Jon Friedberg, CEO of the tech company PokerAtlas, correlated the chilly tourism in the city with the rash of air-travel incidents that had colored the news at the beginning of 2025.
From Slate ● Nov. 18, 2025
The boy proudly showed him pictures he had colored and his favorite toys.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 18, 2023
The young girl held a heart-shaped piece of paper that she had colored in with yellow and blue, the colors of the flag of Ukraine.
From New York Times ● Mar. 27, 2022
The 45-year-old, who sold cattle fodder for a living, had colored his hair that day for a family wedding, said his 22-year-old niece Shaheen.
From Reuters ● Dec. 26, 2019
We had colored kids and Indian kids, and even a handful of Chinese kids, too.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
