primary color

noun

: any of a set of colors from which all other colors may be derived

Examples of primary color in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The clean lines and primary colors, grounded in mid-twentieth-century commercial art, evoke Chris Ware and Ivan Brunetti. The New Yorker, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025 What will be primary color of Ariana Grande red carpet dress? Jay Ginsbach, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025 That light source shapes up as a triple-laser flavor where each of the primary colors – red, green and blue – gets its own laser, with the beams merged into one before leaving the optics. New Atlas, 5 June 2025 Adding to the mystique is a painterly palette of primary colors. Daron James, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for primary color

Word History

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of primary color was in 1817

Cite this Entry

“Primary color.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/primary%20color. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

primary color

noun
: any of a set of colors from which all other colors may be made with the colors for light being red, green, and blue and for pigments or paint being red, yellow, and blue

Medical Definition

primary color

noun
: any of a set of colors (as red, yellow, and blue or red, green, and blue) from which all other colors may be derived

More from Merriam-Webster on primary color

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!