protective coloration

American  

noun

1. coloration or anything likened to it that eliminates or reduces visibility or conspicuousness.

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protective coloration British  

noun

1. the coloration of an animal that enables it to blend with its surroundings and therefore escape the attention of predators

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Etymology

Origin of protective coloration

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

protective coloration

Hair can also provide protective coloration or be part of social signaling, such as when an animal’s hair stands “on end.”

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

Her turnout, a square-neck Oscar de la Renta dress and cropped sweater in wrenlike shades of gray and brown, offered a degree of protective coloration.

From New York Times ● Dec. 27, 2013

Lean, with lanky brown hair and narrow, green-brown eyes, a pallid face by turns near-handsome and homely, he has the protective coloration of a chameleon.

From Time Magazine Archive

Only child of a dilettante critic and an "advanced" mother, Theodore was born into an artistic, late-1890-ish world, soon took on the protective coloration of his environment.

From Time Magazine Archive

It is a protective coloration children utilize for their safety.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck