yellow
Americannoun
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yellows
plural
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a color like that of egg yolk, ripe lemons, etc.; the primary color between green and orange in the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 570 and 590 nanometers.
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the yolk of an egg.
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a yellow pigment or dye.
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Informal. yellow light.
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Slang. yellow jacket.
adjective
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of the color yellow.
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Disparaging and Offensive.
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designating or pertaining to an Asian person or Asian peoples.
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designating or pertaining to a person of mixed racial origin, especially of black and white heritage.
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having a sallow or yellowish complexion.
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Informal. cowardly.
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(of a newspaper, book, etc.) featuring articles, pictures, or other content that is sensational, especially morbidly or offensively so.
yellow rags;
yellow biographies.
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dishonest in editorial comment and the presentation of news, especially in sacrificing truth for sensationalism, as in
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jealous; envious.
verb (used with or without object)
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yellows,
present (3rd person singular)
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yellowed,
past participle, past
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yellowing
present participle
noun
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any of a group of colours that vary in saturation but have the same hue. They lie in the approximate wavelength range 585–575 nanometres. Yellow is the complementary colour of blue and with cyan and magenta forms a set of primary colours
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a pigment or dye of or producing these colours
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yellow cloth or clothing
dressed in yellow
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the yolk of an egg
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a yellow ball in snooker, etc
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any of a group of pieridine butterflies the males of which have yellow or yellowish wings, esp the clouded yellows ( Colias spp.) and the brimstone
adjective
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of the colour yellow
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yellowish in colour or having parts or marks that are yellowish
yellow jasmine
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having a yellowish skin; Mongoloid
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informal cowardly or afraid
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offensively sensational, as a cheap newspaper (esp in the phrase yellow press )
verb
Sensitivity
It is perceived as insulting to use yellow to describe a person of Asian or mixed racial origin, as in the terms yellow peril and high yellow.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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yellowsimple
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yellowssimple
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have yellowedperfect
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has yellowedperfect
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am yellowingprogressive
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are yellowingprogressive
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is yellowingprogressive
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have been yellowingperfect progressive
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has been yellowingperfect progressive
Past
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yellowedsimple
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had yellowedperfect
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was yellowingprogressive
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were yellowingprogressive
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had been yellowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of yellow
First recorded before 900; 1895–1900 yellow for def. 9; Middle English yelou (adjective and noun), Old English geolo, geolu (adjective); cognate with Dutch geel, German gelb, Old Norse gulr; akin to Latin helvus “pale yellow,” Persian zar “gold” ( see jargon 2 ( def. )), Sanskrit hári “brown, green, yellow”
Explanation
Yellow is the color you'll see in a rainbow, right between orange and green. Yellow is the color of daffodils, lemons, and the traffic light that is supposed to make cars slow down. The word yellow comes from a Proto-Indo-European root word that means "to shine." Sunflowers, egg yolks, and corn on the cob all share this bright color, and if you're asked to draw a picture of the sun, you're likely to grab a yellow crayon. The informal meaning of yellow, "cowardly," has been around since the 1850s, and may have originated in a Texas slur for Mexican soldiers, whose uniforms were yellow.
Vocabulary lists containing yellow
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Two weeks earlier, the Patriot team rode in a yellow school bus without air conditioning on a 100-degree day to an away game at Ramona.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026
The company—known for its giant yellow dump trucks, bulldozers and other equipment—posted a third-quarter profit of $3.29 billion, or $7.13 a share, compared with $2.3 billion, or $4.88 a share, a year earlier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
However, he also received four yellow cards – the most of any player in the division.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Under these conditions, fluorescence could create small green and cyan highlights against the salamanders' yellow markings, potentially making them easier for other salamanders to spot.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2026
There’s a boat made to look like a float plane, a Loch Ness monster, a giant yellow duck, and another motorcycle.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
But seasoned leaf-peepers know that Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park and Shenandoah Valley are equally majestic places for autumn color, thanks to sugar maples, magnolias and more vegetation that erupts in fiery reds, oranges and yellows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
The outside world recedes, and the colors of the house’s interior slowly deepen from cheerful yellows and blues to muted greens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Does the number of yellows match the number of fouls?
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Visitors can expect yellows and splashes of orange, with more flowers sprouting every day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2026
And because of her hair—I use up all my yellows drawing it.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
As well as this, "he was just getting yellower and yellower", she said.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2025
If the sky looks blue, that could also make the sun look yellower.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 1, 2023
Light bulbs with warmer or yellower tones are more suited to our circadian rhythm than bluer light — that’s why the “night” mode on your smartphone uses them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2022
It had red writing spelling out the brand name Velveeta, the cheese substance that, depending on your color sense, is either bold gold or yellower than school bus yellow.
From New York Times ● Feb. 9, 2022
The leaves get smaller and yellower, folding back toward the bud, and the air crisps.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Mallory Ortberg: “Jeeves, bring me my whangee, my yellowest shoes, and the old green Homburg. I’m going into the Park to do pastoral dances.”
From Slate ● Feb. 22, 2017
Fishkill Farms has the best eggs with the yellowest yolks.
From New York Times ● Nov. 17, 2016
A Hogarthian cast of characters, from Britain's lordliest media barons to subalterns on the yellowest of yellow rags.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 29, 2012
Not even the yellowest journals suggested that Banker Morgan was selling his pictures because he needed the money.
From Time Magazine Archive
He wore his most aggressive necktie and his yellowest shoes, also his Sunday suit of clothes.
From Reels and Spindles A Story of Mill Life by Frank T. (Frank Thayer) Merrill
The earliest pages in Lee Him’s file, yellowed with age and ragged at the edges, date to 1908.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
They simply weren’t my taste anymore, and I didn’t like how the resin had yellowed over time.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026
The paper had yellowed from age and the cursive was so ornate the words were hard to make out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
Fruit stored at 30°C yellowed rapidly, while mangoes kept at 12°C maintained their color longer because chlorophyll breakdown slowed significantly.
From Science Daily ● May 23, 2026
His home was small, painted like yellowed eggshells.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
By the time a patient experiences signs, such as jaundice – a yellowing of the skin – or abdominal pain, the cancer has often already spread to other organs.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 4, 2026
On the yellowing front page, 20 or so young Greenlanders smile, feet planted in the snow.
From Barron's ● Mar. 3, 2026
It’s the moment of yellowing when lead starts becoming gold but isn’t gold yet.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 28, 2026
Beneath those were strips of yellowing shoe patterns and a tracing of the actor’s foot with a note written in loopy cursive:
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2025
I used to resent it when my mother would forget I was an adult, but I’m approaching the maundering phase myself, digging out the yellowing baby pictures, mooning over locks of hair.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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