umber

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈʌmbə/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈʌmbɚ/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(um′bər)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
um•ber /ˈʌmbɚ/USA pronunciation   n. 
    [uncountable]
  1. Mineralogybrown earth used as a pigment.
  2. Fine Artthe color of such a pigment;
    dark dusky brown or dark reddish brown.

adj. 
  1. of the color umber.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
um•ber  (um′bər),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Mineralogy, Fine Artan earth consisting chiefly of a hydrated oxide of iron and some oxide of manganese, used in its natural state as a brown pigment (raw umber) or, after heating, as a reddish-brown pigment (burnt umber.)
  2. Fine Artthe color of such a pigment;
    dark dusky brown or dark reddish brown.
  3. Fish[Ichthyol.]the European grayling, Thymallus thymallus.
  4. Scottish Terms[North Eng. Dial.]shade;
    shadow.

adj. 
  1. of the color umber.

v.t. 
  1. to color with or as if with umber.
  • French terre d'ombre or Italian terra di ombra
  • Latin umbra; in sense "earth''
  • Old French umbre
  • Middle English umbre, umber shade, shadow 1250–1300

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
umber /ˈʌmbə/ n
  1. any of various natural brown earths containing ferric oxide together with lime and oxides of aluminium, manganese, and silicon See also burnt umber
  2. any of the dark brown to greenish-brown colours produced by this pigment
  4. obsolete shade or shadow
 adj
  1. of, relating to, or stained with umber
Etymology: 16th Century: from French (terre d')ombre or Italian (terra di) ombra shadow (earth), from Latin umbra shade
'umber' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
burnt umber - Ernie - pin - raw umber

Forum discussions with the word(s) "umber" in the title:


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