color

/ˈkʌl.ə/

//ˈkʌl.ə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"color" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“color” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,298 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,298
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The spectral composition of visible light.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

color vs cor
60% similar
color vs coo
60% similar
color vs cool
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for color
PropertyValue
Headwordcolor
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkʌl.ə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#1,298
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “color” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). color lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for color is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkʌl.ə/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,298 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 25 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for color, with forms such as "ccolor", "cloor", and "collor". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cor", "coo", "cool", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English colour, color, borrowed from Anglo-Norman colur, from Old French colour, color, from Latin color. Doublet of couleur. Displaced English blee, Middle English blee (“color”), from Old English blēo. Also partially replaced Old English hīew … The correct English form is color, spelled C-O-L-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    The spectral composition of visible light.
  2. 2
    A subset thereof:
  3. 3
    A subset thereof:
  4. 4
    A subset thereof:
  5. 5
    A subset thereof:
  6. 6
    A paint.
  7. 7
    Human skin tone, especially as an indicator of race or ethnicity.
  8. 8
    Skin color, noted as normal, jaundiced, cyanotic, flush, mottled, pale, or ashen as part of the skin signs assessment.
  9. 9
    A flushed appearance of blood in the face; redness of complexion.
  10. 10
    Richness of expression; detail or flavour that is likely to generate interest or enjoyment.
  11. 11
    A standard, flag, or insignia:
  12. 12
    A standard, flag, or insignia:
  13. 13
    A standard, flag, or insignia:
  14. 14
    An award for sporting achievement, particularly within a school or university.
  15. 15
    The morning ceremony of raising the flag.
  16. 16
    A property of quarks, with three values called red, green, and blue, which they can exchange by passing gluons; color charge.
  17. 17
    A third-order measure of derivative price sensitivity, expressed as the rate of change of gamma with respect to time, or equivalently the rate of change of charm with respect to changes in the underlying asset price.
  18. 18
    The relative lightness or darkness of a mass of written or printed text on a page. (See type color on Wikipedia.Wikipedia)
  19. 19
    Any of the colored balls excluding the reds.
  20. 20
    A front or facade; an ostensible truth actually false; pretext.
  21. 21
    An appearance of right or authority; color of law.
  22. 22
    Gold, particles of gold found when prospecting.
  23. 23
    To bleed, either through injury or blading. Usally prefaced with "get".
  24. 24
    Timbre, often in relation to orchestration.
  25. 25
    The quality of a particular vowel sound.

Etymology

From Middle English colour, color, borrowed from Anglo-Norman colur, from Old French colour, color, from Latin color. Doublet of couleur. Displaced English blee, Middle English blee (“color”), from Old English blēo. Also partially replaced Old English hīew (“color”) and its descendants (English hue), which is less often used in this sense. The spelling color was popularized in modern American English by Noah Webster, to match the spelling of the word's Latin etymon, and make all American spellings of the derivatives consistent (colorimeter, coloration, colorize, colorless, etc).

Synonyms

colourDgammaDtimegamma decaybleecolorhueshadetincturetint

This word in other languages

color(Español)couleur(Français)Farbe(Deutsch)cor(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccolor,cloor,collor,colorr,colro,coolr,oclor

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of color - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ccolor1cloor2collor1colorr1colro2coolr2oclor2
Edit distance from "color"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "color"?
"color" is spelled C-O-L-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkʌl.ə/.
What does "color" mean?
As a noun, "color" means: The spectral composition of visible light.
What words are commonly confused with "color"?
"color" is commonly confused with "cor", "coo", "cool". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "color"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "color" is /ˈkʌl.ə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "color"?
From Middle English colour, color, borrowed from Anglo-Norman colur, from Old French colour, color, from Latin color. Doublet of couleur. Displaced English blee, Middle English blee (“color”), from Old English blēo. Also partially replaced Old Eng... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “color”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-O-L-O-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈkʌl.ə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “cor” - see the side-by-side comparison. color vs cor
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list