primary color

noun

1. Art. a color, as red, yellow, or blue, that in mixture yields other colors. Compare complementary color ( def 1 ), secondary color, tertiary color.
2. Optics. any of a set of monochromatic colors, as red, green, and blue, that are added to match or specify the chromaticity of a stimulus or sample.

primary color

1. Any of a group of colors from which all other colors can be made by mixing.
2. See more at additiveSee Note at color

Word History and Origins

Origin of primary color¹

First recorded in 1605–15

Example Sentences

The avocado green casserole dishes in the “Spring Blossom” print and classic mixing bowls, sold in sets of primary colors, have held countless top-secret family recipes and decorated the dinner tables of multiple generations.

From Eater

The first iconic pieces, introduced in 1943, are a set of mixing bowls in classic primary colors — red, blue, green, and yellow.

From Eater

The printing process for Ektachrome, like any other color photography, involves dyes or ink in the primary colors cyan, magenta, and yellow, and the cyan in Ektachrome from the 1960s turned out to be unstable.

From The Daily Beast

Among the mellow pigments of the Roman canvas she was a glaring splotch of primary color.

From Project Gutenberg

As a primary color, it is much more rarely seen in nature than either red or yellow.

From Project Gutenberg

His mind filed it away together with a primary-color picture of Jiggs and Maggie.

From Project Gutenberg

They usually contain a mixture of a primary color common to both.

From Project Gutenberg

Both these experiments may be made with the primary color wheel or color top.

From Project Gutenberg