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.
the yolk of an egg.
a yellow pigment or dye.
Informal. yellow light.
Slang. yellow jacket (def. 2).
adjective,yel·low·er,yel·low·est.
of the color yellow.
Disparaging and Offensive.
designating or pertaining to an Asian person or Asian peoples.
designating or pertaining to a person of mixed racial origin, especially of black and white heritage.
having a sallow or yellowish complexion.
Informal. cowardly.
(of a newspaper, book, etc.) featuring articles, pictures, or other content that is sensational, especially morbidly or offensively so: yellow rags;yellow biographies.
dishonest in editorial comment and the presentation of news, especially in sacrificing truth for sensationalism, as in yellow journalism; yellow press.
jealous; envious.
verb (used with or without object)
to make or become yellow: Yellow the sheets with dye. The white stationery had yellowed with age.
Origin of yellow
First recorded before 900; 1895–1900 for def. 9; Middle English yelou (adjective and noun), Old English geolo, geolu (adjective); cognate with Dutch geel, German gelb, Latin helvus “pale-yellow”; akin to Old Norse gulr
SYNONYMS FOR yellow
9 craven, timorous, fearful.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR yellow ON THESAURUS.COM
usage note for yellow
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.
“When I say everybody and their mama got court notices, the entire neighborhood of Harbour House had yellow court notices on every single mailbox.”
She Was Sued Over Rent She Didn’t Owe. It Took Seven Court Dates to Prove She Was Right.|by Danielle Ohl, Capital Gazette, and Talia Buford and Beena Raghavendran, ProPublica|August 25, 2020|ProPublica
It’s a species of mosquito that carries several deadly diseases, such as Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever.
This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through August 22)|Singularity Hub Staff|August 22, 2020|Singularity Hub
The Hangzhou app asked people to self-report their travel and health information, and then gave them a color code of red, yellow, or green.
Inside China’s unexpected quest to protect data privacy|Tate Ryan-Mosley|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
“We’ve seen some really beautiful bright yellows, sort of golden-orangey colors, through to some really deep purple,” Filomena Pettolino, a scientist on MacMillan’s team, told Australia’s ABC News.
Scientists Gene-Hack Cotton Plants to Make Them Every Color of the Rainbow|Jason Dorrier|August 11, 2020|Singularity Hub
While our sun is called a yellow dwarf star, it’s not that small.
Let’s learn about the sun|Bethany Brookshire|June 24, 2020|Science News For Students
Yellow fever ravaged Philadelphia in first few weeks of October 1793.
Disease History Vs. Disease Hysteria|Kevin Bleyer|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A yellow hazardous material bin placed out on the lawn, just beyond some red tape reading “Danger Do Not Enter,” left no doubt.
Dallas: A Journal of the Plague City|Pete Freedman|October 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Americans thought then we were at the cutting edge figuring out typhus and yellow fever,” says Bennett.
How Presidents Handle Pandemics|Eleanor Clift|October 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Beyond medical board or nursing association certification, candidates must have a valid passport and yellow fever vaccination.
$10,000 a Month for Ebola Fighters|Abby Haglage|October 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The first checkpoint was decked out in the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag and just inside the city limits.
On the Bus: Ukraine’s Frontline Express Across the Battle Lines|Ted Phillips|September 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The harp can be made of wood, covered with gold paper, and strung with yellow cord.
Home Pastimes; or Tableaux Vivants|James H. Head
And yet there was one gleam of hope, feeble as the yellow flicker of the gas-lamp across the way.
The Big Bow Mystery|I. Zangwill
The blossoms of this plant are bright red, usually more or less tinged with yellow.
Flowers of Mountain and Plain|Edith S. Clements
Her face was yellow; her eyes were sunken and dull; her hands trembled.
A Daughter of the Vine|Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
South of the river the yellow strata are more distinctly developed.
Buffalo Land|W. E. Webb
British Dictionary definitions for yellow
yellow
/ (ˈjɛləʊ) /
noun
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 coloursRelated adjective: xanthous
a pigment or dye of or producing these colours
yellow cloth or clothingdressed in yellow
the yolk of an egg
a yellow ball in snooker, etc
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
of the colour yellow
yellowish in colour or having parts or marks that are yellowishyellow jasmine
having a yellowish skin; Mongoloid
informalcowardly or afraid
offensively sensational, as a cheap newspaper (esp in the phrase yellow press)