white
a white dress
COLOUR having the colour of milk, salt, or snow
a white dress
Oxford Essential Dictionary
adjective (whiter, whitest)
1 with the colour of snow or milk:
He wore a white shirt and a blue tie.
2 with pale skin
3 (British) White coffee is made with milk:
I'd like a white coffee.
4 White wine is wine with a light colour.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
white
I. white1 S1 W1 /waɪt/ BrE AmE adjective
[Word Family: noun: ↑white, ↑whiteness, ↑whitener; verb: ↑whiten; adjective: ↑white]
[Language: Old English; Origin: hwit]
1. COLOUR having the colour of milk, salt, or snow:
a white dress
pure/snow white (=completely white)
snow white hair
2. PEOPLE
a) belonging to the race of people with pale skin ⇨ black:
young white males
b) relating to white people:
a white neighborhood
3. PALE looking pale, because of illness, strong emotion etc:
Are you OK? You’re white as a sheet (=extremely pale).
white with anger/fear etc
Her voice shook, and her face was white with anger.
4. COFFEE [usually before noun] British English white coffee has milk or cream in it
5. WINE white wine is a pale yellow colour ⇨ red
6. a white Christmas a Christmas when there is snow
7. whiter than white completely morally good:
He said that he had never claimed to be whiter than white.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
white
white [white whites whited whiting whiter whitest] adjective, noun [waɪt] [waɪt]
adjective (whiter, whit·est)
1. having the colour of fresh snow or of milk
• a crisp white shirt
• white bread
• a set of perfect white teeth
• His hair was as white as snow.
• The horse was almost pure white in colour.
2. belonging to or connected with a race of people who have pale skin
• white middle-class families
• She writes about her experiences as a black girl in a predominantly white city.
3. (of the skin) pale because of emotion or illness
• white with shock
• She went white as a sheet when she heard the news.
4. (BrE) (of tea or coffee) with milk added
• Two white coffees, please.
• Do you take your coffee black or white?
compare black
Word Origin:
late Old English hwīt, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch wit and German weiss, also to wheat.
Example Bank:
• He looked red-eyed and white-faced, slightly fearful and anxious.
• She went as white as a sheet when she heard the news.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
white / waɪt / adjective (COLOUR)
A1 of a colour like that of snow, milk, or bone:
a white T-shirt
white walls
a black and white dog
He's white-haired now.
"How do you like your coffee?" "White (= with milk or cream) and no sugar, please."
C2 having a pale face because you are not well, or you are feeling shocked:
She was white, and her lips were pale.
A2 used in the names of various food and drink products, many of which are not pure white but slightly cream, yellow, grey, or transparent:
white bread
white chocolate
white flour
white sugar
whiteness / ˈwaɪt.nəs / noun [ U ]
the quality of being white
white / waɪt / adjective (PEOPLE)
B1 of a person who has skin that is pale in colour:
He had a black mother and a white father.
a predominantly white neighbourhood
whiteness / ˈwaɪt.nəs / noun [ U ]
the quality of being white
© Cambridge University Press 2013
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
white
/(h)waɪt/
(whiter, whitest, whites)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
Something that is white is the colour of snow or milk.
He had nice square white teeth...
He was dressed in white from head to toe.
COLOUR
• white‧ness
Her scarlet lipstick emphasized the whiteness of her teeth.
N-UNCOUNT
2.
A white person has a pale skin and belongs to a race which is of European origin.
He was white, with brown shoulder-length hair and a moustache.
ADJ
•
Whites are white people.
It’s a school that’s brought blacks and whites and Hispanics together.
N-COUNT: usu pl
3.
If someone goes white, the skin on their face becomes very pale, for example because of fear, shock, anger, or illness.
Richard had gone very white, but he stood his ground...
His face was white with fury.
ADJ: usu v-link ADJ
•
If someone looks white as a sheet or as white as a sheet, they look very frightened, shocked, or ill.
He appeared in the doorway, white as a sheet, eyes wide with horror.
PHRASE: v-link PHR
4.
White wine is pale yellow in colour.
Gregory poured another glass of white wine and went back to his bedroom.
ADJ
•
You can refer to white wine as white.
I bought a bottle of Californian white.
N-MASS
5.
White coffee has had milk or cream added to it. (BRIT)
Wayne has a large white coffee in front of him.
ADJ
6.
White blood cells are the cells in your blood which your body uses to fight infection.
ADJ: ADJ n
7.
The white of an egg is the transparent liquid that surrounds the yellow part called the yolk.
N-VAR
8.
The white of someone’s eye is the white part that surrounds the coloured part called the iris.
N-COUNT: usu N of n
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
1white /ˈwaɪt/ adj whit·er; -est
1 a : having the color of fresh snow or milk
• He was wearing white sneakers.
• a white T-shirt/blouse
• white socks
• white lilies
• puffy white clouds
• white hair
• He had a long, white beard.
• white rice
b : light or pale in color
• Her lips were white with fear.
• He turned white when he heard the news.
- see also snow-white
2 : of or relating to a race of people who have light-colored skin and who come originally from Europe
• The suspect was a white [=Caucasian] male.
• He came from a white middle-class background.
• His mother is Hispanic and his father is white.
3 US : not having anything written or printed on it
• There was too much white [=empty, blank] space on the page.
4 Brit : served with cream or milk
• white coffee/tea
a white Christmas : a Christmas when there is snow on the ground or when it is snowing
• We were hoping for a white Christmas.
- white·ness /ˈwaɪtnəs/ noun [noncount]
- whit·ish /ˈwaɪtɪʃ/ adj
• whitish hair
