a pale yellow, sometimes reddish or brownish, fossil resin of vegetable origin, translucent, brittle, and capable of gaining a negative electrical charge by friction and of being an excellent insulator: used for making jewelry and other ornamental articles.
the yellowish-brown color of resin.
adjective
of the color of amber; yellowish-brown: amber fields of grain.
made of amber: amber earrings.
Origin of amber
1350–1400; Middle English ambre<Old French <Medieval Latin ambra<Arabic ʿanbar ambergris; confusion of the dissimilar substances perhaps because both were rare, valuable, and found on seacoasts
Profits from the amber mined in Myanmar’s conflict-ridden Kachin State may be helping to fund warring groups in the region.
This dinosaur was no bigger than a hummingbird|Carolyn Gramling|April 13, 2020|Science News For Students
The researchers aren’t sure exactly where the chunk of amber containing the bird skull came from.
This dinosaur was no bigger than a hummingbird|Carolyn Gramling|April 13, 2020|Science News For Students
As a result of these and other ethical concerns, some scientists have begun calling for a halt to scientific papers that describe fossils in Myanmar amber.
This dinosaur was no bigger than a hummingbird|Carolyn Gramling|April 13, 2020|Science News For Students
By participating in the amber trade, some researchers say, scientists may be able to keep them from vanishing into private collections and being lost to the public trust.
This dinosaur was no bigger than a hummingbird|Carolyn Gramling|April 13, 2020|Science News For Students
In some cases, such as those of Dallas nurses Nina Pham and Amber Vinson, the body figures out how to fight back.
Blood Is Ebola’s Weapon and Weakness|Abby Haglage|October 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Two centuries later, the Amber Room was repatriated to Germany under very different diplomatic circumstances.
The Biggest Art Heist of WWII is Still Unsolved||October 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
However, when the Red Army reached Königsberg in 1945, the Amber Room had mysteriously vanished.
The Biggest Art Heist of WWII is Still Unsolved||October 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On stage, Amber spoofed Sarah Palin in a topknot and librarian glasses, yanking a toy gun and stuffed moose from her skirt.
Best Career Arc Ever: From Burlesque To Bartending|Anne Berry|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Later, at the Rose.Rabbit.Lie club, Amber spontaneously sing “Proud Mary” with a cabaret singer.
Best Career Arc Ever: From Burlesque To Bartending|Anne Berry|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In both cases the name is derived from the pale yellow colour of electrum, resembling that of amber.
Sometimes the coffee would come to the table a thin, amber fluid that tasted like particularly bad consommé.
The Booming of Acre Hill|John Kendrick Bangs
The death of Amber was as nothing to the death of Chitor—a body whence the life had been driven by riot and the sword.
From Sea to Sea|Rudyard Kipling
In the case of amber, since there is another different method of attracting, the Epicurean atoms cannot fit one another in shape.
On the magnet, magnetick bodies also, and on the great magnet the earth|William Gilbert of Colchester
Beneath trees and hedgerows the ripe mosses gleamed, and coral and amber fungi, with amanita and other hooded folk.
Children of the Mist|Eden Phillpotts
British Dictionary definitions for amber
amber
/ (ˈæmbə) /
noun
a yellow or yellowish-brown hard translucent fossil resin derived from extinct coniferous trees that occurs in Tertiary deposits and often contains trapped insects. It is used for jewellery, ornaments, etc
(as modifier)an amber necklace Related adjective: succinic
fly in ambera strange relic or reminder of the past
a medium to dark brownish-yellow colour, often somewhat orange, similar to that of the resin
(as adjective)an amber dress
an amber traffic light used as a warning between red and green
Word Origin for amber
C14: from Medieval Latin ambar, from Arabic `anbar ambergris
A hard, translucent, brownish-yellow substance that is the fossilized resin of ancient trees. It often contains fossil insects.
A Closer Look
Certain trees, especially conifers, produce a sticky substance called resin to protect themselves against insects. Normally, it decays in oxygen through the action of bacteria. However, if the resin happens to fall into wet mud or sand containing little oxygen, it can harden and eventually fossilize, becoming the yellowish, translucent substance known as amber. If any insects or other organisms are trapped in the resin before it hardens, they can be preserved, often in exquisite detail. By studying these preserved organisms, scientists are able learn key facts about life on Earth millions of years ago.