white

A1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈwaɪt/ UK /ˈwaɪt/ See IPA manual

Freq #564

Meanings

1

adj
Having the colour of fresh snow or milk; the lightest colour.

Write in black ink on white paper.
2

adj
Belonging to a group of people with pale skin.

The town has a mostly white population.
3

adj
Having hair that has turned pale with age.

His hair had gone white over the years.
4

verb
To make or become white.

This detergent will white your laundry.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 adj · having hair that has turned... whitened

4 verb · to make or become white. whiten

More bright chalky flashy frosted light milky pale pearly shiny silvery snowy

Word family

Forms whiterwhiteswhitest

Derived forms anti-whiteblack-and-whiteblack-or-whiteblacky-whiteblue-and-whitechalk-whiteegg-whitegreen-white-checkergreen-white-checkeredgreen-white-chequergreen-white-chequeredlily-white

Related forms blue green orange red violetwhitebeamwhiten whiteness whitish yellow

Appears in

Phrases (6)

See all

white burgundy
a white wine produced in the Burgundy region of France

Adjective + noun
white dwarf
a small, extremely dense star with low luminosity

Adjective + noun
white corpuscle
A white blood cell involved in defending the body against infection and other threats.

Adjective + noun
white vitriol
A traditional chemical name for zinc sulfate, a pale crystalline salt.

Adjective + noun
white clover
a creeping clover grown for forage, with flowers ranging from white to pale pink

Adjective + noun
white yam
a type of yam grown for large edible tubers with white flesh

Adjective + noun

Idioms (2)

See all

white elephant
an expensive, burdensome asset that is hard to maintain and brings no benefit
white knight
a friendly company or investor that rescues a target from a hostile takeover

Proverbs (2)

See all

Simplified etymology

White comes from Old English and is related to wheat.

Etymology

* As an English surname, from Middle English White, as a nickname for someone with white hair or pale complexion; in some cases from a personal name of the same meaning. See the modern adjective white. * Also as an English surname, from Old English *wiht (“bend”), found only in placenames, a derivative of the verb wican (“to yield, bend”); compare Wight. * As a Scottish Gaelic and Irish surname, used as a translation of several Gaelic names containing the element bán and geal, including Mac Giolla bháin (McElwain, Kilbane), Ó Gealagáin (Galligan), Bán (Bane), and Ó Banáin (Bannon). * Also as a…

White Middle English *wiht Old English le White xno

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# white

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** adj, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈwaɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈwaɪt/
**Frequency rank:** 564

## Meanings
1. Having the colour of fresh snow or milk; the lightest colour.
2. Belonging to a group of people with pale skin.
3. Having hair that has turned pale with age.
4. To make or become white.

## Examples
- Write in black ink on white paper.
- The town has a mostly white population.
- His hair had gone white over the years.
- This detergent will white your laundry.

## Synonyms
- bright
- chalky
- flashy
- frosted
- light
- milky
- pale
- pearly
- shiny
- silvery
- snowy

## Derived Forms
- anti-white
- black-and-white
- black-or-white
- blacky-white
- blue-and-white
- chalk-white
- egg-white
- green-white-checker
- green-white-checkered
- green-white-chequer
- green-white-chequered
- lily-white

## Related Forms
- blue
- green
- orange
- red
- violet
- whitebeam
- whiten
- whiteness
- whitish
- yellow

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: White
- Root: *wiht
- Root: le White

## Etymology
* As an English surname, from Middle English White, as a nickname for someone with white hair or pale complexion; in some cases from a personal name of the same meaning. See the modern adjective white. * Also as an English surname, from Old English *wiht (“bend”), found only in placenames, a derivative of the verb wican (“to yield, bend”); compare Wight. * As a Scottish Gaelic and Irish surname, used as a translation of several Gaelic names containing the element bán and geal, including Mac Giolla bháin (McElwain, Kilbane), Ó Gealagáin (Galligan), Bán (Bane), and Ó Banáin (Bannon). * Also as a…

## AI Etymology
White: * As an English surname, from Middle English White, as a nickname for someone with white hair or pale complexion; in some cases from a personal name of the same meaning. See the modern adjective white. Also as an English surname, from Old English *wiht (“bend”), found only in placenames, a derivative of the verb wican (“to yield, bend”); compare Wight. As a Scottish Gaelic and Irish surname, used as a translation of several Gaelic names containing the element bán and geal, including Mac Giolla bháin (McElwain, Kilbane), Ó Gealagáin (Galligan), Bán (Bane), and Ó Banáin (Bannon). Important historical forms include Middle English White, Old English *wiht, and Anglo-Norman le White. In present-day use, it can mean having the colour of fresh snow or milk; the lightest colour, or belonging to a group of people with pale skin.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

markdown

white

Meanings

Verb forms

Thesaurus

Appears in

Phrases (6)

Idioms (2)

Proverbs (2)

Simplified etymology

Etymology

Topics

External links

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Send feedback