person of color

American  

[pur-suhn uhv kuhl-er] / ˈpɜr sən əv ˈkʌl ər /

noun

plural

people of color, persons of color

1. a person who is not white.

   The corporation was especially eager to recruit women and people of color.

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person of color Idioms  

1. A nonwhite person, such as someone of African or Native American descent. For example, They have made a genuine effort to promote persons of color to executive positions. This seemingly modern euphemism actually dates from the late 1700s and was revived in the late 1900s.

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Sensitive Note

See Black ¹.

Etymology

Origin of person of color

First recorded in 1785–90

Example Sentences

The journey marks a series of historic accomplishments: it will send the first person of color, the first woman and the first non-American on a lunar mission.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

The historic journey took place three years after the Soviet Union sent the first person of color into space, the Cuban Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

The National Theatre is among the cultural treasures of the U.K., so it is history-making that the institution is now headed by Indhu Rubasingham, the first woman and person of color in charge.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 15, 2025

It enrages her that “some people have more barriers than others, whether it means that you’re working class or poor, or a person of color, or queer, or part of the gender spectrum.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2025

In 1811, Charles Deslondes, a free person of color from Saint Domingue, led what is sometimes called the largest slave revolt in U.S. history.

From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson