Meaning of “white” in the English Dictionary

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"white" in English

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whiteadjective

uk ​ /waɪt/ us ​ /waɪt/

white 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.
UK "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
white wine

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white adjective (PEOPLE)

B1 belonging to the group of people with skin that is pale in colour, who come from or whose family originally came from Europe:

He had a black mother and a white father.
a predominantly white neighbourhood

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whiteness
noun [ U ] uk ​ /ˈwaɪt.nəs/ us ​ /ˈwaɪt.nəs/

› the quality of being white

Idiom(s)

(as) white as a sheet
whiter than white

whitenoun

uk ​ /waɪt/ us ​ /waɪt/

white noun (COLOUR)

A2 [ U ] a colour like that of snow, milk, or bone:

In some countries it is traditional for a bride to wear white.
whites [ plural ]

› white clothes, either worn for a particular activity or job, or put together to be washed at the same time:

a girl in tennis whites
chef/chef's whites
The medical team was all in hospital whites.
A red sock got put in the wash with the whites!
white of the eye

› the part of the eye that is white:

Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes (= until the people are very close to you).
egg white/white of an egg

› the transparent part of an egg that surrounds the yolk and becomes white when cooked:

Beat four egg whites into stiff peaks.

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(Definition of “white” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

"white" in American English

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whiteadjective, noun [ C/U ]

us ​ /hwɑɪt, wɑɪt/

white adjective, noun [ C/U ] (COLOR)

› (of) a color like that of snow, milk, or bone:

white hair
a white shirt
[ C ] We used a bright white on the ceilings.

› The white of an egg is the part of an egg that becomes white when cooked.

whiteadjective [ -er/-est only ]

us ​ /hwɑɪt, wɑɪt/

white adjective [ -er/-est only ] (PALE SKIN)

› belonging to a race whose skin is pale in color; Caucasian:

There were many white faces in the crowd.

(Definition of “white” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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