co|los|sal /kəlɒ s ə l/ ADJ If you describe something as colossal , you are emphasizing that it is very large. [EMPHASIS ] □ There has been a colossal waste of public money. □ The task they face is colossal. ● co|los|sal|ly ADV [ADV adj] □ Their policies have been colossally destructive.
co|los|sus /kəlɒ səs/ (colossi /kəlɒ sa I /)
1 N‑COUNT [usu sing] If you describe someone or something as a colossus , you think that they are extremely important and great in ability or size. [JOURNALISM , EMPHASIS ] □ …saxophone colossus Sonny Rollins. □ [+ of ] He became a colossus of the labour movement.
2 N‑COUNT A colossus is an extremely large statue.
co|los|to|my /kəlɒ stəmi/ (colostomies ) N‑COUNT A colostomy is a surgical operation in which a permanent opening from the colon is made. [MEDICAL ]
col|our ◆◆◆ /kʌ lə r / (colours , colouring , coloured ) in AM, use color 1 N‑COUNT The colour of something is the appearance that it has as a result of the way in which it reflects light. Red, blue, and green are colours. □ 'What colour is the car?'—'Red.'. □ Her silk dress was sky-blue, the colour of her eyes. □ Judi's favourite colour is pink. □ The badges come in twenty different colours and shapes.
2 N‑VAR A colour is a substance you use to give something a particular colour. Dyes and make-up are sometimes referred to as colours . □ …The Body Shop Herbal Hair Colour. □ It is better to avoid all food colours. □ …the latest lip and eye colours.
3 VERB If you colour something, you use something such as dyes or paint to change its colour. □ [V n] Many women begin colouring their hair in their mid-30s. □ [V n] We'd been making cakes and colouring the posters. □ [V n colour] The petals can be cooked with rice to colour it yellow. ● col|our|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ They could not afford to spoil those maps by careless colouring.
4 VERB If someone colours , their face becomes redder than it normally is, usually because they are embarrassed. □ [V ] Andrew couldn't help noticing that she coloured slightly.
5 N‑COUNT [usu sing, oft poss N ] Someone's colour is the colour of their skin. People often use colour in this way to refer to a person's race. [POLITENESS ] □ I don't care what colour she is. □ He acknowledged that Mr Taylor's colour and ethnic origins were utterly irrelevant in the circumstances.
6 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A colour photograph, picture, or film is one that shows things in all their colours, and not just in black, white, and grey. □ There was a colour photo of me in the newspaper.
7 N‑UNCOUNT Colour is a quality that makes something especially interesting or exciting. □ She had resumed the travel necessary to add depth and colour to her novels.
8 → see also local colour
9 VERB If something colours your opinion, it affects the way that you think about something. □ [V n] The attitude of the parents must colour the way children approach school.
10 N‑PLURAL A country's national colours are the colours of its national flag. □ The Opera House is decorated with the Hungarian national colours: green, red and white.
11 N‑PLURAL People sometimes refer to the flag of a particular part of an army, navy, or air force, or the flag of a particular country as its colours . □ Troops raised the country's colors in a special ceremony. □ …the battalion's colours.
12 N‑PLURAL A sports team's colours are the colours of the clothes they wear when they play. □ I was wearing the team's colours.
13 → see also coloured , colouring
14 PHRASE If you pass a test with flying colours , you have done very well in the test. □ So far McAllister seemed to have passed all the tests with flying colors.
15 PHRASE If a film or television programme is in colour , it has been made so that you see the picture in all its colours, and not just in black, white, or grey. □ Was he going to show the film? Was it in colour?
16 PHRASE People of colour are people who belong to a race with dark skins. [POLITENESS ] □ Black communities spoke up to defend the rights of all people of color.
17 PHRASE If you see someone in their true colours or if they show their true colours , you realize what they are really like. □ The children are seeing him in his true colours for the first time now. □ The team showed their true colours by beating the league leaders.
▸ colour in PHRASAL VERB If you colour in a drawing, you give it different colours using crayons or paints. □ [V P n] Draw simple shapes for your child to colour in. [Also V n P ] COLLOCATIONS colour NOUN 1
noun + colour : eye, hair, skin
adjective + colour : bold, bright, strong, vibrant, vivid; light, muted, neutral, pale, pastel; cool, rich, warm; dark, deep
col|our|ant /kʌ lərənt/ (colourants ) in AM, use colorant N‑COUNT A colourant is a substance that is used to give something a particular colour. □ …a new range of hair colourants.
co lour-blind in AM, use color-blind 1 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] Someone who is colour-blind cannot see the difference between colours, especially between red and green. □ Sixteen times as many men are colour-blind as women. ● colour-blindness N‑UNCOUNT □ What exactly is colour-blindness and how do you find out if you have it?