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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

white.

Bright and colourless; reflecting equal quantities of all frequencies of visible light.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈwaɪt/[ˈwaɪ̯t]/ˈʍaɪt/[ˈw̥aɪ̯t]
  1. Bright and colourless; reflecting equal quantities of all frequencies of visible light.

    Write in black ink on white paper.
  2. Of or relating to Europeans or those of European descent, regardless if their skin has cool or warm undertones.

    capitalized · sometimes
  3. Of or relating to Caucasians (people with white complexion and European ancestry).

    capitalized · sometimes
  4. By U.S. Census Bureau definition, of or relating to people hailing from Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

    capitalized · sometimes
  5. Designated for use by Caucasians.

    historical
    white drinking fountain
    white hospital
  6. Relatively light or pale in colour.

    white wine
    white grapes
  7. Pale or pallid, as from fear, illness, etc.

  8. Lacking coloration (tan) from ultraviolet light; not tanned.

  9. With leucism.

  10. Containing cream, milk, or creamer.

  11. The standard denomination of the playing pieces of a board game deemed to belong to the white set, no matter what the actual colour.

    The white pieces in this set are in fact made of light green glass.
  12. Pertaining to an ecclesiastical order whose adherents dress in white habits; Cistercian.

    a white monk
  13. Honourable, fair, decent, kind; generous.

    offensive · often · uncommon
  14. Grey, as from old age; having silvery hair; hoary.

  15. Characterized by freedom from that which disturbs, and the like; fortunate; happy; favourable.

    archaic
  16. Regarded with especial favour; favourite; darling.

    obsolete
  17. Pertaining to constitutional or anti-revolutionary political parties or movements.

  18. Made from immature leaves and shoots.

  19. Not containing characters; see white space.

  20. Said of a symbol or character outline, not solid, not filled with color. Compare black (“said of a character or symbol filled with color”).

  21. Characterised by the presence of snow.

    a white Christmas
    a white Easter
  22. Alwhite, pertaining to white armor.

Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English whit, hwit, from Old English hwīt, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīt, from Proto-Germanic *hwītaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweydós, a byform of *ḱweytós (“bright; shine”). Cognates * West Frisian wyt * Dutch wit * German weiß * German weiss * Norwegian Bokmål hvit * Norwegian Nynorsk kvit * Swedish vit * Danish hvid * Lithuanian šviẽsti (“to gleam”), šviesa (“light”) * Old Church Slavonic свѣтъ (světŭ, “light”), свѣтьлъ (světĭlŭ, “clear, bright”) * Persian سفید (sefid, “white”), Persian سپید (sepid, “white”) * Avestan 𐬯𐬞𐬀𐬉𐬙𐬀 (spaēta, “white”) * Sanskrit श्वेत (śvetá, “white, bright”)

noun/ˈwaɪt/[ˈwaɪ̯t]/ˈʍaɪt/[ˈw̥aɪ̯t]
  1. The color of snow or milk; the color of light containing equal amounts of all visible wavelengths.

    countable · uncountable
  2. A person of European descent with light-colored skin.

    countable · uncountable
  3. Any butterfly of the subfamily Pierinae in the family Pieridae.

    countable · uncountable
  4. White wine.

    countable · uncountable
  5. White coffee

    countable · uncountable
  6. Ellipsis of white bread

    abbreviation · alt-of · ellipsis · uncountable
  7. Any object or substance that is of the color white. The albumen of bird eggs (egg white).

    countable · uncountable
  8. Any object or substance that is of the color white. The sclera, white of the eye.

    countable · uncountable
  9. Any object or substance that is of the color white. The cue ball in cue games.

    countable · uncountable
  10. Any object or substance that is of the color white. Cocaine.

    UK · US · countable · slang · uncountable
  11. Any object or substance that is of the color white. The snow- or ice-covered "green" in snow golf.

    countable · uncountable
  12. Any object or substance that is of the color white. A white pigment.

    countable · uncountable
    Venice white
  13. Any object or substance that is of the color white. A white bean.

    countable · uncountable
  14. The central part of the butt, which was formerly painted white; the centre of a mark at which a missile is shot.

    countable · uncountable
  15. The enclosed part of a letter of the alphabet, especially when handwritten.

    countable · uncountable
  16. A feather, from the wing of the cock ostrich, that is of the palest possible shade.

    countable · uncountable
  17. The person playing with the white set of pieces.

    countable · uncountable
    In this position, white has an opportunity to make a good move.
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English whit, hwit, from Old English hwīt, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīt, from Proto-Germanic *hwītaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweydós, a byform of *ḱweytós (“bright; shine”). Cognates * West Frisian wyt * Dutch wit * German weiß * German weiss * Norwegian Bokmål hvit * Norwegian Nynorsk kvit * Swedish vit * Danish hvid * Lithuanian šviẽsti (“to gleam”), šviesa (“light”) * Old Church Slavonic свѣтъ (světŭ, “light”), свѣтьлъ (světĭlŭ, “clear, bright”) * Persian سفید (sefid, “white”), Persian سپید (sepid, “white”) * Avestan 𐬯𐬞𐬀𐬉𐬙𐬀 (spaēta, “white”) * Sanskrit श्वेत (śvetá, “white, bright”)

verb/ˈwaɪt/[ˈwaɪ̯t]/ˈʍaɪt/[ˈw̥aɪ̯t]
  1. To make white; to whiten; to bleach.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English whit, hwit, from Old English hwīt, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīt, from Proto-Germanic *hwītaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweydós, a byform of *ḱweytós (“bright; shine”). Cognates * West Frisian wyt * Dutch wit * German weiß * German weiss * Norwegian Bokmål hvit * Norwegian Nynorsk kvit * Swedish vit * Danish hvid * Lithuanian šviẽsti (“to gleam”), šviesa (“light”) * Old Church Slavonic свѣтъ (světŭ, “light”), свѣтьлъ (světĭlŭ, “clear, bright”) * Persian سفید (sefid, “white”), Persian سپید (sepid, “white”) * Avestan 𐬯𐬞𐬀𐬉𐬙𐬀 (spaēta, “white”) * Sanskrit श्वेत (śvetá, “white, bright”)

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Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.