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dye

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To colour with dye, or as if with dye.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

dy
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈdaɪ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. ambitransitive

    To colour with dye, or as if with dye.

  2. ambitransitive

    Color with dye

noun

  1. Any hue or color.

  2. A colourant, especially one that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is applied.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

More ways to use dye

  • “Please dye these shoes.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Soluble

hair dyedye solution

Other combinations

dye laserfluorescent dyeaniline dyeblue dyered dyeyellow dye

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • cyanine dyenounCompound term

    Any of a class of dyes containing a -CH= group linking two heterocyclic rings containing nitrogen.

  • deep-dyeverbCompound term

    Dye thoroughly.

  • direct dyenounCompound term

    Dye with a high affinity for cellulose fibers (cotton or rayon etc.).

  • double dyeverbCompound term

    Dye twice.

  • dye-worksnounCompound term

    A workshop where dyeing is done.

  • fast dyeverbCompound term

    Dye with fast colors.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • dyer's-broomnounRelated term

    Small Eurasian shrub having clusters of yellow flowers that yield a dye.

  • dyer's greenweednounRelated term

    Small Eurasian shrub having clusters of yellow flowers that yield a dye.

  • dyer's mignonettenounRelated term

    European mignonette cultivated as a source of yellow dye.

  • dyer's rocketnounRelated term

    European mignonette cultivated as a source of yellow dye.

  • dyer's weednounRelated term

    Eastern North American herb whose yellow flowers are (or were) used in dyeing.

  • dyer's woodruffnounRelated term

    Creeping European perennial having red or pinkish-white flowers and red roots sometimes used as a substitute for madder in dyeing.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.