1
: color from dyeing
2
: a soluble or insoluble coloring matter
dyed; dyeing
1
: to impart a new and often permanent color to especially by impregnating with a dye
2
: to impart (a color) by dyeing
: to take up or impart color in dyeing
Synonyms
Examples of dye in a Sentence
Noun
soaked the fabric in blue dye
Verb
She had been dyeing her hair for years.
The fabric is bleached, dyed, and then washed.
Recent Examples on the Web
Alison Fox, Parents, 22 Mar. 2024
The Food and Drug Administration approves the use of dyes in foods and requires evidence that a color additive is safe before being added to products.
—Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2024
Cotton threads are woven on a large loom at a mill somewhere in Asia, then shipped to a dye house, then shipped (usually a great distance) to a garment factory somewhere else in Asia.
—Alden Wicker, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024
The dyes aren’t found in, say, a ham and cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
—John Woolfolk, The Mercury News, 12 Mar. 2024
Blue 1 is found in Froot Loops, and other artificial dyes can be found in Jolly Ranchers, M&Ms, Sour Patch Kids and Mountain Dew.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024
The application took 30 minutes and then Novotny let the dye sit on Fox’s hair for 20 minutes before washing it out.
—Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 1 Apr. 2024
Brow tinting, or the process of applying semi-permanent dye to your brow hair, is a low-maintenance means of enhancing your natural look.
—Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 28 Mar. 2024
As of Saturday, Russia had filed at least 15 criminal cases after people poured dye in ballot boxes, started fires or lobbed Molotov cocktails at polling stations.
—Christian Edwards, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024
Emily Yahr, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
While Easter egg hunts, dyeing eggs and photos with the Easter Bunny are a fun time with the kids, what about the day of?
—Marina Johnson, The Indianapolis Star, 30 Mar. 2024
Learn more › Biting the heads off chocolate bunnies is fun, but the real thrill of Easter is dyeing eggs.
—Annie Colbert, Popular Science, 27 Mar. 2024
To fit that mold, Silverman dyed her hair blonde, and started to pair restriction with intense exercise to lose weight.
—Audrey Richardson and Aurora Sousanis, Detroit Free Press, 17 Mar. 2024
Slowly roll the egg over the surface so the colored shaving cream completely coats the egg's shell and dyes it.
—Emily Vanschmus, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Mar. 2024
Read more Photo of the day: The luck of the Irish celebrated around the world
Cities dyed their rivers green.
—USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2024
Her dark hair is dyed a vibrant hue, a trademark look of her brother’s, as well.
—Sonia Rao, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
For her wedding in May 2023, Ashley Oliver Thomas paid $150 for the bra cups of her ceremony gown to be dyed to match her skin color.
—Sadiba Hasan, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024
Noun
And the earliest Easter eggs were often painted with substances like vegetable dye and charcoal.
—Alison Fox, Parents, 22 Mar. 2024
The Food and Drug Administration approves the use of dyes in foods and requires evidence that a color additive is safe before being added to products.
—Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2024
Cotton threads are woven on a large loom at a mill somewhere in Asia, then shipped to a dye house, then shipped (usually a great distance) to a garment factory somewhere else in Asia.
—Alden Wicker, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024
The dyes aren’t found in, say, a ham and cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
—John Woolfolk, The Mercury News, 12 Mar. 2024
Blue 1 is found in Froot Loops, and other artificial dyes can be found in Jolly Ranchers, M&Ms, Sour Patch Kids and Mountain Dew.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024
The application took 30 minutes and then Novotny let the dye sit on Fox’s hair for 20 minutes before washing it out.
—Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 1 Apr. 2024
Brow tinting, or the process of applying semi-permanent dye to your brow hair, is a low-maintenance means of enhancing your natural look.
—Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 28 Mar. 2024
As of Saturday, Russia had filed at least 15 criminal cases after people poured dye in ballot boxes, started fires or lobbed Molotov cocktails at polling stations.
—Christian Edwards, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024
Verb
Then, a few seasons in, Preston — who was blond and wore a red wig on camera — decided to dye her hair red.
—Emily Yahr, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
While Easter egg hunts, dyeing eggs and photos with the Easter Bunny are a fun time with the kids, what about the day of?
—Marina Johnson, The Indianapolis Star, 30 Mar. 2024
Learn more › Biting the heads off chocolate bunnies is fun, but the real thrill of Easter is dyeing eggs.
—Annie Colbert, Popular Science, 27 Mar. 2024
To fit that mold, Silverman dyed her hair blonde, and started to pair restriction with intense exercise to lose weight.
—Audrey Richardson and Aurora Sousanis, Detroit Free Press, 17 Mar. 2024
Slowly roll the egg over the surface so the colored shaving cream completely coats the egg's shell and dyes it.
—Emily Vanschmus, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Mar. 2024
Read more Photo of the day: The luck of the Irish celebrated around the world
Cities dyed their rivers green.
—USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2024
Her dark hair is dyed a vibrant hue, a trademark look of her brother’s, as well.
—Sonia Rao, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
For her wedding in May 2023, Ashley Oliver Thomas paid $150 for the bra cups of her ceremony gown to be dyed to match her skin color.
—Sadiba Hasan, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dye.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near dye
Cite this Entry
“Dye.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dye. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
dye
1 of 2 noun1
: color from dyeing
2
: a soluble or insoluble coloring matter
dye
2 of 2 verb
dyed; dyeing
1
: to impart a new and often permanent color to especially by impregnating with a dye
2
: to impart (a color) by dyeing
dyeing blue on yellow
: to take up or impart color in dyeing
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