orange

[ awr-inj, or- ]

/ ˈɔr ɪndʒ, ˈɒr- /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for orange on Thesaurus.com

noun

a globose, reddish-yellow, bitter or sweet, edible citrus fruit.

any white-flowered, evergreen citrus trees of the genus Citrus, bearing this fruit, as C. aurantium(bitter orange, Seville orange, or sour orange ) and C. sinensis(sweet orange ), cultivated in warm countries.

any of several other citrus trees, as the trifoliate orange.

any of several trees or fruits resembling an orange.

a color between yellow and red in the spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 590 and 610 nanometers; reddish yellow.

Art. a secondary color that has been formed by the mixture of red and yellow pigments.

adjective

of or relating to the orange.

made or prepared with oranges or orangelike flavoring: orange sherbet.

of the color orange; reddish-yellow.

QUIZ

SPRINT TO THE FINISH WITH THIS OLYMPICS QUIZ!

Compete in our Olympics quiz to see if you can take home the gold medal in Olympics knowledge.

Question 1 of 10

Where was the Olympics first held?

ancient Rome

ancient Greece

ancient Persia

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of orange

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English: the fruit or tree, Old French orenge, cognate with Spanish naranja, from Arabic nāranj, from Persian nārang, from Sanskrit nāraṅga

Words nearby orange

oral surgery, oral tradition, -orama, Oran, orang, orange, orangeade, orange blossom, Orangeburg, orange chromide, orange flower oil

Other definitions for orange (2 of 2)

Orange

[ awr-inj, or-; French aw-rahnzh for 3, 6 ]

/ ˈɔr ɪndʒ, ˈɒr-; French ɔˈrɑ̃ʒ for 3, 6 /

noun

a member of a European princely family ruling in the United Kingdom from 1688 to 1694 and in the Netherlands since 1815.

a river in the Republic of South Africa, flowing W from Lesotho to the Atlantic. 1,300 miles (2,095 km) long.

a former small principality of W Europe: now in the SE part of France.

a city in SW California, near Los Angeles.

a city in NE New Jersey, near Newark.

a town in SE France, near Avignon: Roman ruins.

a city in SE Texas.

a town in S Connecticut.

Fort. Fort Orange.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use orange in a sentence

The parasitic dodder grows, eventually covering its victim in a tangled, threadlike web of orange or yellow stems.
This parasitic plant eavesdrops on its host to know when to flower|Jonathan Lambert|September 4, 2020|Science News
The brilliant reds and oranges of fall foliage — shining in the face of everything this year — can still be admired from the isolated safety of a family car.
Pick Your Poison|Nick Mancall-Bitel|September 3, 2020|Eater
The sale of non-essential items being permitted in designated “orange” and “green” zones—areas that were not Covid-19 hotbeds—is one of the reasons for the uptick.
Indians are now spending more on e-commerce than they did in 2019|Ananya Bhattacharya|August 19, 2020|Quartz
After taking these courses, we made a collaborative short film, using a simple color palette—one character was orange, the other purple—and our usual systematic approach.
Crafting our path|Tate Ryan-Mosley|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review

The researchers created a patch with larger needles to pierce the trunk of an orange tree.
Silk-based microneedles may help treat diseased plants|Kathryn Hulick|June 18, 2020|Science News For Students
A sad-faced orange Star of David flashed across the iPhone screen as we swiped left on “James” (not his real name).
My Week on Jewish Tinder|Emily Shire|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It took me 1,015 strokes to see this shade of green in a world of orange, and my jaw nearly dropped.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Suddenly, light flooded the room, and I found myself lying on a filthy orange sofa across the room from where my rape occurred.
I Was Gang Raped at a UVA Frat 30 Years Ago, and No One Did Anything|Liz Seccuro|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I learn by the third day to tell the nurse privately to make mine mostly orange juice.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A storage building became a ghostly concrete frame lit bright orange.
Raging Protesters Set Ferguson on Fire|Justin Glawe|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some one had gathered orange and lemon branches, and with these fashioned graceful festoons between.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
The long line of little gray, weather-beaten houses nestled peacefully among the orange trees.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
An illumination broke over his whole face when he saw her and joined her under the orange tree.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Thus shall we see the destinies of this country guided under the orange and red flag.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
The Russians, on the contrary, prefer orange-yellow transparent specimens.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.

British Dictionary definitions for orange (1 of 3)

orange

/ (ˈɒrɪndʒ) /

noun

any of several citrus trees, esp Citrus sinensis (sweet orange) and the Seville orange, cultivated in warm regions for their round edible fruitSee also tangerine (def. 1)

the fruit of any of these trees, having a yellowish-red bitter rind and segmented juicy fleshSee also navel orange
(as modifier)orange peel

the hard wood of any of these trees

any of a group of colours, such as that of the skin of an orange, that lie between red and yellow in the visible spectrum in the approximate wavelength range 620–585 nanometres

a dye or pigment producing these colours

orange cloth or clothingdressed in orange

any of several trees or herbaceous plants that resemble the orange, such as mock orange

adjective

of the colour orange

Word Origin for orange

C14: via Old French from Old Provençal auranja, from Arabic nāranj, from Persian nārang, from Sanskrit nāranga, probably of Dravidian origin

British Dictionary definitions for orange (2 of 3)

Orange¹

noun

(ˈɒrɪndʒ) a river in S Africa, rising in NE Lesotho and flowing generally west across the South African plateau to the Atlantic: the longest river in South Africa. Length: 2093 km (1300 miles)

(French ɔrɑ̃ʒ) a town in SE France: a small principality in the Middle Ages, the descendants of which formed the House of Orange. Pop: 27 989 (1999)Ancient name: Arausio (əˈraʊsɪəʊ)

British Dictionary definitions for orange (3 of 3)

Orange²

/ (ˈɒrɪndʒ) /

noun

a princely family of Europe. Its possessions, originally centred in S France, passed in 1544 to the count of Nassau, who became William I of Orange and helped to found the United Provinces of the Netherlands. Since 1815 it has been the name of the reigning house of the Netherlands. It was the ruling house of Great Britain and Ireland under William III and Mary (1689–94) and under William III as sole monarch (1694–1702)

(modifier) of or relating to the Orangemen

(modifier) of or relating to the royal dynasty of Orange

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

orange

Origin of orange

Words nearby orange

Other definitions for orange (2 of 2)

Words related to orange

How to use orange in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for orange (1 of 3)

Word Origin for orange

British Dictionary definitions for orange (2 of 3)

British Dictionary definitions for orange (3 of 3)