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.
British. (of coffee) containing milk.
noun
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.
(initial capital letter) 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 initial capital letter) a member of a royalist, conservative, or reactionary political party.
verb (used with object),whit·ed,whit·ing.
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.
Verb Phrases
white out,
to cover (errors in copy) with a white correction fluid.
to censor, as by obliterating words or passages with white ink.
Idioms for 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
First recorded before 900; Middle English whit(e), Old English hwīt; cognate with German weiss, Old Norse hvītr, Gothic hweits; akin to wheat
OTHER WORDS FROM white
half-white,adjectiveun·white,adjective
Words nearby white
whit, Whitaker, Whitbread, Whitby, Whitchurch-Stouffville, white, whiteacre, white admiral, white alder, white alert, white alkali
Definition for white (2 of 2)
White
[ hwahyt, wahyt ]
/ ʰwaɪt, waɪt /
noun
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.
Brookes' was, perhaps, the principal club of the day, though 'White's Chocolate House' was almost on a par with it.
The Wits and Beaux of Society|Grace & Philip Wharton
Even among his like, he has his own criteria by which one 'white man' knows another, and coheres with him politically.
The Unity of Civilization|Various
That 'all swans are white' was at one time, from this point of view, not probable but certain; though we now know it to be false.
Logic|Carveth Read
Just the kind of lonely-moated-grange place where you'd expect to see a 'woman in white' at the window.
The School by the Sea|Angela Brazil
In the same way when Bulliard wrote leucopodia, 'white stockings', he doubtless meant to be exact.
The North American Slime-Moulds|Thomas H. (Thomas Huston) MacBride
British Dictionary definitions for white (1 of 3)
white
/ (waɪt) /
adjective
having no hue due to the reflection of all or almost all incident lightCompare 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 colourwhite 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 intentwhite magic
colourless or transparentwhite glass
capped with or accompanied by snowa white Christmas
(sometimes capital)counterrevolutionary, very conservative, or royalistCompare 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
physicshaving or characterized by a continuous distribution of energy, wavelength, or frequencywhite noise
informalhonourable or generous
(of armour) made completely of iron or steel (esp in the phrase white harness)
the condition or quality of being white; whiteness
the white or lightly coloured part or area of something
the whitethe viscous fluid that surrounds the yolk of a bird's egg, esp a hen's egg; albumen
anatomythe white part (sclera) of the eyeball
any of various butterflies of the family PieridaeSee large white, small white, cabbage white
chessdraughts
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
poeticfairness of complexion
in the white(of wood or furniture) left unpainted or unvarnished
verb
(usually foll by out)to create or leave white spaces in (printed or other matter)
obsoleteto make or become white
See also white out, whites
Derived forms of white
whitely, adverbwhiteness, nounwhitish, adjective
Word Origin for white
Old English hwīt; related to Old Frisian hwīt, Old Saxon hwīt, Old Norse hvītr, Gothic hveits, Old High German hwīz (German weiss)
British Dictionary definitions for white (2 of 3)
White1
/ (waɪt) /
noun
a person, esp one of European ancestry, from a human population having light pigmentation of the skin
adjective
denoting or relating to a White person or White people
British Dictionary definitions for white (3 of 3)
White2
/ (waɪt) /
noun
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