white

/waɪt/

/hwaɪt/

/waɪt/

Other forms: whites; whiter; whitest; whitely; whited

You know white when you see it; it's the color of a glass of milk or a puffy cloud or freshly fallen snow. Scientifically speaking, white has no hue at all.

Ask a physicist and they'll tell you that white is what you see when all the colors of visible light come together. On the color spectrum, it's the direct opposite of black. Use white as an adjective to describe your teacher's chalk, a blank page in your sketchbook, or your grandfather's snowy white hair. It's a noun, too: "We all wore white to the party." White is from a Germanic root that means "light or bright."

Definitions of white

1. adjective

   being of the achromatic color of maximum lightness; having little or no hue owing to reflection of almost all incident light
   “as white as fresh snow”

   “a bride's white dress”

   synonyms:

   albescent

   becoming or shading into white

   light, light-colored

   (used of color) having a relatively small amount of coloring agent

   antonyms:

   black

   being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light

   dark, dusky, fuliginous

   (used of color) having a dark hue
2. adjective

   glowing white with heat
   “white flames”

   “a white-hot center of the fire”

   synonyms: white-hot

   hot

   used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
3. adjective

   (of hair) having lost its color
   “the white hairs of old age”

   synonyms: whitened

   colorless, colourless

   weak in color; not colorful
4. noun

   the quality or state of the achromatic color of greatest lightness (bearing the least resemblance to black)
   synonyms: whiteness

   antonyms:

   black

   the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)

   types:

   alabaster

   a very light white

   bleach

   the whiteness that results from removing the color from something

   bone, ivory, off-white, pearl

   a shade of white the color of bleached bones

   chalk

   a pure flat white with little reflectance

   frostiness, hoariness

   a silvery-white color

   type of:

   achromatic color, achromatic colour

   a color lacking hue; white or grey or black
5. verb

   turn white
   synonyms: whiten

   types:

   bleach

   make whiter or lighter

   peroxide

   bleach with peroxide

   type of:

   color, colour, discolor, discolour

   change color, often in an undesired manner
6. adjective

   of or belonging to a racial group having light skin coloration
   “voting patterns within the white population”

   synonyms:

   Caucasian, Caucasoid

   of or relating to Caucasian people

   light-skinned

   having little skin pigmentation

   antonyms:

   black

   of or belonging to a racial group having dark skin especially of sub-Saharan African origin

   African-American, Afro-American

   pertaining to or characteristic of Americans of African ancestry
7. adjective

   restricted to whites only
   “under segregation there were even white restrooms and white drinking fountains”

   synonyms: lily-white

   segregated, unintegrated

   separated or isolated from others or a main group
8. adjective

   free from moral blemish or impurity; unsullied
   “in shining white armor”

   synonyms:

   pure

   (used of persons or behaviors) having no faults; sinless
9. adjective

   benevolent; without malicious intent
   “that's white of you”

   synonyms:

   good

   morally admirable
10. adjective

    marked by the presence of snow
    “a white Christmas”

    “the white hills of a northern winter”

    synonyms: snowy

    covered

    overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
11. adjective

    (of a surface) not written or printed on
    “wide white margins”

    synonyms: blank, clean

    empty

    holding or containing nothing
12. adjective

    (of coffee) having cream or milk added
    synonyms:

    dilute, diluted

    reduced in strength or concentration or quality or purity
13. adjective

    anemic looking from illness or emotion
    “lips white with terror”

    “a face white with rage”

    synonyms: ashen, blanched, bloodless, livid

    colorless, colourless

    weak in color; not colorful
14. adjective

    of summer nights in northern latitudes where the sun barely sets
    “white nights”

    synonyms:

    light

    characterized by or emitting light
15. noun

    the white part of an egg; the nutritive and protective gelatinous substance surrounding the yolk consisting mainly of albumin dissolved in water
    “she separated the whites from the yolks of several eggs”

    synonyms: albumen, egg white, ovalbumin

    type of:

    fixings, ingredient

    food that is a component of a mixture in cooking
16. noun

    (board games) the lighter pieces
    antonyms:

    black

    (board games) the darker pieces

    type of:

    man, piece

    game equipment consisting of an object used in playing certain board games
17. noun

    (usually in the plural) trousers made of flannel or gabardine or tweed or white cloth
    synonyms: flannel, gabardine, tweed

    type of:

    pant, trouser

    (usually in the plural) a garment extending from the waist to the knee or ankle, covering each leg separately