white
of the color of pure snow, of the margins of this page, etc.; reflecting nearly all the rays of sunlight or a similar light.
light or comparatively light in color.
(of human beings) belonging to a group marked by slight pigmentation of the skin, often of European descent.
for, limited to, or predominantly made up of white people: a white neighborhood.
pallid or pale, as from fear or other strong emotion: white with rage.
silvery, gray, or hoary: white hair.
snowy: a white Christmas.
lacking color; transparent.
(politically) ultraconservative.
blank, as an unoccupied space in printed matter: Fill in the white space below.
Also called al·wite [awl-wahyt] /ˈɔl waɪt/ .Armor. composed entirely of polished steel plates without fabric or other covering.
wearing white clothing: a white monk.
Older Use: Offensive. decent, honorable, or dependable: That's mighty white of you.
auspicious or fortunate.
morally pure; innocent.
without malice; harmless: white magic.
(of wines) light-colored or yellowish, as opposed to red.
refined or processed, as flour.
British. (of coffee) containing milk.
a color without hue at one extreme end of the scale of grays, opposite to black. A white surface reflects light of all hues completely and diffusely. Most so-called whites are very light grays: fresh snow, for example, reflects about 80 percent of the incident light, but to be strictly white, snow would have to reflect 100 percent of the incident light. It is the ultimate limit of a series of shades of any color.: Compare black (def. 19).
a hue completely desaturated by admixture with white, the highest value possible.
quality or state of being white.
lightness of skin pigment.
a person with light-colored skin, often of European descent.
a white material or substance.
the white part of something.
Biology. a pellucid viscous fluid that surrounds the yolk of an egg; albumen.
the white part of the eyeball: He has a speck in the white of his eye.
whites,
white or nearly white clothing, as in tennis whites.
top-grade white flour.
white wine: Graves is a good white.
a type or breed that is white in color.
Usually whites. a blank space in printing.
White. a hog of any of several breeds having a white coat, as a Chester White.
Entomology. any of several white-winged butterflies of the family Pieridae, as the common cabbage butterflies.
white fabric.
Archery.
the outermost ring of the butt.
an arrow that hits this portion of the butt.
the central part of the butt or target, formerly painted white but now painted gold or yellow.
Archaic. a target painted white.
Chess, Checkers. the men or pieces that are light-colored.
Often White . a member of a royalist, conservative, or reactionary political party.
Printing.
to make white by leaving blank spaces (often followed by out).
to whiten (areas of artwork) in retouching preparatory to photoengraving (often followed by out).
Archaic. to make white; whiten.
white out,
to cover (errors in copy) with a white correction fluid.
to censor, as by obliterating words or passages with white ink.
Idioms about white
bleed white, Informal. to be or cause to be deprived of all one's resources: Dishonesty is bleeding the union white.
in the white, in an unfinished state or condition, as furniture wood that has not been stained or varnished.
white around the gills. gill1 (def. 6).
Origin of white
1Other words from white
- half-white, adjective
- un·white, adjective
Other definitions for White (2 of 2)
Andrew Dickson, 1832–1918, U.S. diplomat and pioneer of land-grant education.
Byron R(aymond) "Whizzer", 1917–2002, U.S. lawyer and jurist: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1962–93.
Edmund, born 1940, U.S. novelist.
Edward Douglass, 1845–1921, U.S. jurist: chief justice of the U.S. 1910–21.
Edward H(ig·gins), II [hig-inz], /ˈhɪg ɪnz/, 1930–67, U.S. astronaut: first American to walk in space 1965.
E(l·wyn) B(rooks) [el-win], /ˈɛl wɪn/, 1899–1985, U.S. humorist and poet.
George Leonard, 1838–95, U.S. choral conductor.
Gilbert, 1720–93, English clergyman, naturalist, and writer.
Patrick (Victor Mar·tin·dale) [mahr-tn-deyl], /ˈmɑr tnˌdeɪl/, 1912–90, Australian writer, born in England: Nobel Prize 1973.
Stanford, 1853–1906, U.S. architect.
Stewart Edward, 1873–1946, U.S. novelist.
T(erence) H(an·bur·y) [han-buh-ree], /ˈhæn bə ri/, 1896–1964, English novelist.
Theodore H., 1915–86, U.S. journalist and writer.
Walter Francis, 1893–1955, U.S. civil rights leader and writer: executive secretary of the NAACP 1931–55.
William A(l·an·son) [al-uhn-suhn], /ˈæl ən sən/, 1870–1937, U.S. neurologist, psychiatrist, and writer.
William Allen, 1868–1944, U.S. journalist.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use white in a sentence
During a midterm election with a larger share of anxious, older, whiter voters, that was enough.
One of the Midterms’ Little-Noticed Big Losers: The NRA | Cliff Schecter | November 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSo any time you talk about Republicans, you are talking older and whiter.
The mirror reflected a face which was like my own, but whiter, and so thin that I hardly recognized it.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show | Robert W. Chambers | February 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt is a guiding principle of the Young Royals that—unlike their ancestors—they must be whiter than white.
Whiter Teeth—Make a paste by crushing some basil leaves with the zest of an orange.
Use These 15 Home Remedies Based On Ayurveda To Cure Menstrual Cramps, Hangovers, and Indigestion | Ari Meisel | January 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
She took his offered arm with her disengaged hand, as an additional support; and her white face turned a shade whiter.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodHer Nazarites were whiter than snow, purer than milk, more ruddy than the old ivory, fairer than the sapphire.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousThe Rector laid his hand on the slender fingers, hot with fever, whiter than they ought to be, betraying life's inward care.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodThe sunrays grew whiter and stronger to light up the great rugged stage of Nature.
Menotah | Ernest G. HenhamPliny, and several after him, have said, that the coat of the female panther was whiter than that of the male.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10) | Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
British Dictionary definitions for white (1 of 3)
/ (waɪt) /
having no hue due to the reflection of all or almost all incident light: Compare black (def. 1)
(of light, such as sunlight) consisting of all the colours of the spectrum or produced by certain mixtures of three additive primary colours, such as red, green, and blue
comparatively white or whitish-grey in colour or having parts of this colour: white clover
(of an animal) having pale-coloured or white skin, fur, or feathers
bloodless or pale, as from pain, emotion, etc
(of hair, a beard, etc) silvery or grey, usually from age
benevolent or without malicious intent: white magic
colourless or transparent: white glass
capped with or accompanied by snow: a white Christmas
(sometimes capital) counterrevolutionary, very conservative, or royalist: Compare Red (def. 2)
blank, as an unprinted area of a page
(of wine) made from pale grapes or from black grapes separated from their skins
(of coffee or tea) with milk or cream
(of bread) made with white flour
physics having or characterized by a continuous distribution of energy, wavelength, or frequency: white noise
informal honourable or generous
(of armour) made completely of iron or steel (esp in the phrase white harness)
rare morally unblemished
rare (of times, seasons, etc) auspicious; favourable
poetic, or archaic having a fair complexion; blond
bleed white to deprive slowly of resources
whiter than white
extremely clean and white
informal very pure, honest, and moral
a white colour
the condition or quality of being white; whiteness
the white or lightly coloured part or area of something
the white the viscous fluid that surrounds the yolk of a bird's egg, esp a hen's egg; albumen
anatomy the white part (sclera) of the eyeball
any of various butterflies of the family Pieridae: See large white, small white, cabbage white
chess draughts
a white or light-coloured piece or square
(usually capital) the player playing with such pieces
anything that has or is characterized by a white colour, such as a white paint or pigment, a white cloth, a white ball in billiards
an unprinted area of a page
archery
the outer ring of the target, having the lowest score
a shot or arrow hitting this ring
poetic fairness of complexion
in the white (of wood or furniture) left unpainted or unvarnished
(usually foll by out) to create or leave white spaces in (printed or other matter)
obsolete to make or become white
Origin of white
1Derived forms of white
- whitely, adverb
- whiteness, noun
- whitish, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for White (2 of 3)
/ (waɪt) /
a person, esp one of European ancestry, from a human population having light pigmentation of the skin
denoting or relating to a White person or White people
British Dictionary definitions for White (3 of 3)
/ (waɪt) /
Gilbert. 1720–93, English clergyman and naturalist, noted for his Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne (1789)
Jimmy. born 1962, English snooker player
Marco Pierre. born 1961, British chef and restaurateur
Patrick (Victor Martindale). 1912–90, Australian novelist: his works include Voss (1957), The Eye of the Storm (1973), and A Fringe of Leaves (1976): Nobel prize for literature 1973
T (erence) H (anbury). 1906–64, British novelist: author of the Arthurian sequence The Once and Future King (1939–58)
Willard (Wentworth) (ˈwɪlɑːd). born 1946, British operatic bass, born in Jamaica
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with white
In addition to the idioms beginning with white
- white as a sheet
- white elephant
- white feather
- white flag, show the
- white lie
- white sale
also see:
- black and white
- bleed someone white
- great white hope
- show the white feather
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Browse