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• orange
  orange

  noun

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

  noun

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

orange

¹ American  

[awr-inj, or-] / ˈɔr ɪndʒ, ˈɒr- /

noun

oranges plural

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

2. 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.

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

4. any of several trees or fruits resembling an orange.

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

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

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adjective

1. of or relating to the orange.

2. made or prepared with oranges or orangelike flavoring.

   orange sherbet.

3. of the color orange; reddish-yellow.

Orange ² American  

[awr-inj, or-, aw-rahnzh] / ˈɔr ɪndʒ, ˈɒr-, ɔˈrɑ̃ʒ /

noun

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

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

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

4. a city in SW California, near Los Angeles.

5. a city in NE New Jersey, near Newark.

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

7. a city in SE Texas.

8. a town in S Connecticut.

9. Fort. Fort Orange.

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orange ¹ British  

/ ˈɒrɪndʒ /

noun

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

2. 1. the fruit of any of these trees, having a yellowish-red bitter rind and segmented juicy flesh See also navel orange

   2. ( as modifier )

      orange peel

3. the hard wood of any of these trees

4. 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

5. a dye or pigment producing these colours

6. orange cloth or clothing

   dressed in orange

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

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adjective

1. of the colour orange

Orange ² British  

/ ˈɒrɪndʒ /

noun

1. 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)

2. (modifier) of or relating to the Orangemen

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

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Orange ³ British  

noun

1. 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)

2. Ancient name: Arausio.  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)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• oranges
  plural

Etymology

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

Explanation

An orange is a citrus tree that produces sweet-smelling white blossoms, and eventually, oranges. Orange, as in the bright color, comes from the name of the fruit and tends to be used for items we need to notice: like road construction signs and prison jumpsuits. Oranges grow in warm places like Florida, California, and Brazil, where they are harvested to be eaten and made into juice and other products. The color of the orange, in varying hues, is also orange, a warm, sunny shade that falls between red and yellow on the color spectrum. The first orange trees probably grew in India, and the word itself has its roots in the Sanskrit naranga-s, "orange tree."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

orange Orange oranges

Hoyte van Hoytema’s Imax-framed cinematography is assertive and present, rocking with the stormy waves and peering into the torch-lit darkness where the color palette is as starkly orange and black as an ancient Greek urn.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

Calls are put into categories - purple and red as the most urgent, orange for things like heart attacks and strokes, then yellow and green for lower priority calls.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Seasoning options are endless, from sticky-sweet orange sauce to classic barbecue or your favorite dry rub.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

And those matches are so deeply Norwegian that kids might as well swap their orange slices for brown cheese.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

She has a tough face, and an orange tongue like she ate cheese puffs for breakfast.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

The bargain grocer is closing under-performing locations, including in San Diego and Orange counties.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

A month later, Moore, then at the Orange Bowl, messaged Shiver on Instagram, the law firm found.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

It is the biggest day in the Orange Order's marching calendar and this year is the 336th anniversary of the battle.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Members of local Orange lodges will also be joined on parade by visiting lodges from Scotland and further afield.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Staying in a garage when we owned our own house wasn’t ideal, but Orange Grove was close to my school and my mom’s work so it had its benefits.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

"The one here - it's brighter," Dozier told the BBC, noting the fresh sweet navel oranges in his basket.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Every week or so, I stock up on a “bunch” of ripe bananas, stashing them alongside the apples and oranges in my fruit bowl, only to forget about their existence within a few short days.

From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026

Fernández, 60, worked for years picking grapes, oranges and other crops.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

Good options include pineapple, oranges, mango, or yogurt.

From Science Daily ● May 24, 2026

He left before they could reply, crashing into a stall of oranges.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell