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
Changes are coming to Peeps in the wake of a new state law prohibiting the use of select food additives, including a chemical that had colored some versions of the marshmallow treats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2023
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
Just three months earlier, the family had colored signs and tacked them to the walls — to celebrate his birth.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 18, 2017
There was also a photograph of people protesting that I wanted to get a better look at They were people carrying the same kind of signs that we had colored in.
From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia
