white

adj

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

   “Write in black ink on white paper.”

   “white as the whitest lily on a stream.”

   “While some of the more exotic varieties are becoming more popular with nationwide growers, such as the pale pinkish white pineberry, local farms will frequently plant a few different varieties to best suit their region.”

2. (capitalized, sometimes)Of or relating to Europeans or those of European descent, regardless if their skin has cool or warm undertones.
3. (capitalized, sometimes)Of or relating to Caucasians (people with white complexion and European ancestry).

   “[…]more white corporations cognizant of the mounting purchasing power of the Negro consumer, have Negro representatives in the field[…].”

   “Ms. Ringwald finds a few things about these films regrettable. One thing she found "significantly disturbing," she wrote, "was how white the films are."”

   “If you're from Africa, why are you white?”

   ““In the United States of America, you don’t have to apologize for being white anymore.””

4. (capitalized, sometimes)By U.S. Census Bureau definition, of or relating to people hailing from Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.
5. (historical)Designated for use by Caucasians.

   “white drinking fountain”

   “white hospital”

6. Relatively light or pale in colour.

   “white wine”

   “white grapes”

   “white birch”

7. Pale or pallid, as from fear, illness, etc.

   “Or whispering with white lips, "The foe! / They come! they come!"”

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

   “Why should the birthplace of the gods in ancient Egyptian times align with the birthplace of the White Lions in our times?”

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.”

    “Consequently, in the initial position the white pieces and pawns are placed on the first and second ranks; the black pieces and pawns on the eighth and seventh ranks.”

12. Pertaining to an ecclesiastical order whose adherents dress in white habits; Cistercian.

    “a white monk”

13. (offensive, often, uncommon)Honourable, fair, decent, kind; generous.

    “White as thy fame, and as thy honour clear.”

    “'The preacher had not proceeded far in his sermon,' said the man, ' before I thought him the whitest man I ever saw. My hat was instantly taken off and thrown under the seat, and I found myself listening with the most profound attention.'”

    “... the parson, […”

    “... Rayner seems powerful anxious to get you on the paper. A good fellow is Rayner; as white a man as I ever knew; and he has as many old friends as would make a good-sized city.”

    “"So I'm here to say I'm sorry." Another big gulp. Troop heaved himself slowly off the locker he was sitting on and held out an eleven-inch hand. "I mistrusted 'twould do you sights o' good; an' this shows I weren't mistook in my jedgments^([sic])." "You're white," said Dan, as Harvey regained the deck, flushed to the tips of his ears.”

14. Grey, as from old age; having silvery hair; hoary.

    “Your high engendered battles 'gainst a head / So old and white as this.”

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

    “On the whole, however, the dominie reckoned this as one of the white days of his life.”

16. (obsolete)Regarded with especial favour; favourite; darling.

    “I am his white boy, and will not be gulled.”

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

    “Aimée de Coigny had always adopted with enthusiasm the political views of her ruling lover and she had thus already held nearly every shade of opinion from red republicanism to white reaction.”

18. Made from immature leaves and shoots.

    “Most often consisting of a budset pluck, a frost tea has the clarity and freshness of a white tea, with the richness and lingering finish of a finely crafted black tea.”

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”).

    “Compare two Unicode symbols: ☞ = "WHITE RIGHT POINTING INDEX"; ☛ = "BLACK RIGHT POINTING INDEX"”

21. Characterised by the presence of snow.

    “a white Christmas”

    “a white Easter”

22. Alwhite, pertaining to white armor.

    “For instance, tyro jousters in fifteenth-century Iberia wore “white armor,” while experienced men wore surcoats over their harness (Fallows 2010, 80), while fabric-covered breastplates are depicted in many examples of fifteenth-century northern European art.”

23. (Canada, UK, US, alt-of, not-comparable, sometimes)Alternative letter-case form of white (“of or relating to white complexion or Europeans”).

    “Unfortunately, many White people have been raised to believe that their race is intrinsically more prejudice than others.”

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The color of snow or milk; the color of light containing equal amounts of all visible wavelengths.

   “Not only were the platforms tiled in white, the tunnels were painted white too - to prettify them, and make them less claustrophobic - and the Central proudly issued a postcard of its tunnel-whitening machine.”

2. (countable, uncountable)A person of European descent with light-colored skin.

   “The Indians carried first our canoes and then our stores through the brushwood, which is very thick at this point, while we four whites, our rifles on our shoulders, walked between them and any danger coming from the woods.”

   “We could have ridden for weeks, possibly months, and never seen a white man had it not been that Laurie was riding from scattered white to white.”

   “The War on Drugs proved popular among key white voters, particularly whites who remained resentful of black progress, civil rights enforcement, and affirmative action.”

3. (countable, uncountable)Any butterfly of the subfamily Pierinae in the family Pieridae.

   “Several other beautiful butterflies rewarded my search in this place [...] The most abundant butterflies were the whites and yellows (Pieridae), several of which I had already found at Lombock and at Coupang, while others were new to me.”

4. (countable, uncountable)White wine.

   “A bottle of red, a bottle of white / It all depends upon your appetite / I'll meet you any time you want / In our Italian Restaurant.”

   “Those were my first impressions of wine: Ladies drink chilled, soft white while they gossip in the kitchen; old men drink strong, room-temperature red to get shellacked.”

5. (countable, uncountable)White coffee
6. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, uncountable)Ellipsis of white bread
7. (countable, uncountable)Any object or substance that is of the color white.
8. (countable, uncountable)Any object or substance that is of the color white.

   “You could see from afar the white of their eyeballs glistening.”

9. (countable, uncountable)Any object or substance that is of the color white.
10. (UK, US, countable, slang, uncountable)Any object or substance that is of the color white.

    “I've got to hit the streets; I've got to move this white.”

    “Ten grand a week we were clearing: base, white, meth, weed, anything. I can get you anything to get you high.”

    “We was flyin' up O with white, we was buildin' lines, now it's clothing lines”

11. (countable, uncountable)Any object or substance that is of the color white.
12. (countable, uncountable)Any object or substance that is of the color white.

    “Venice white”

13. (countable, uncountable)Any object or substance that is of the color white.

    “Nearly two-thirds of the Idaho crop has been great northerns, one-sixth small reds, and the remainder small flat whites and pintos and seed for snap beans and baby limas (table 21).”

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

    “'Twas I won the wager, though you hit the white.”

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

    “Also it giueth a great grace to your writing, if the whites of certeine letters bee made of one equall bignesse with the o. supposing the same were all round, as the white of the b. of the a. p. y. v. w. x. q. d. g. and s.”

    “[…] the a. b. d. g. o. p. q. &c. […] must be made with equal whites.”

    “She copied the whole alphabet like that, as though only the inside whites of the letters registered on her mind.”

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

    “3.—Wing-Quills or Remiges; Whites and Feminas.—The wing-quills are the largest feathers in the wing, and are arranged in a single row. They include the “Whites” in the cock, and the “Feminas” in the hen, as well as the “Byocks” or “Fancies” in the cock.”

    “The usual kinds of ostrich feathers known to the trade come into the Tripoli market. These are whites, blacks, feminas, byocks, spadonas, boos, drabs and floss.”

    “Whites, primes, pound, $120 to $300[…]The whites and blacks come from the male birds, the feminas and drabs from the female, the spadones are the first clipping taken from the young birds and the tails from each.”

    “This parcel included 286 lbs. of feathers known as whites, and 211 lbs. of feathers known as feminas. The whites are described as lot 12, and the feminas as lot 13.”

17. (countable, uncountable)The person playing with the white set of pieces.

    “In this position, white has an opportunity to make a good move.”

    “1...Qd3 2 Ne1 Nd2! wins since 3 Nxd3 Rxf1 mate while 3 Qxc7+ Kg6 only delays the end. The best White can do is 3 Qc3+ Qxc3 4 Rxc3 Rxe1 when Black also wins the Bf1 and will be two pieces up.”

18. (alt-of)Alternative letter-case form of white (“European”).

    “The Whites on the mission were a special kind of white person, special in the way that my grandmother had explained to me, for they were holy.”

    “To add insult to injury, not only do Whites shame each other but every other race joins in because they are also educated to believe Whites have somehow screwed them over and are still screwing them over.”

19. (historical)An anticommunist who fought against the Reds during the Russian Civil War; the term is mostly associated with monarchist forces.
20. The player moving the white pieces.

    “The eight files (from left to right for White and from right to left for Black) are indicated by the small letters, a, b, c, d, e, f, g and h, respectively.”

verb

1. (transitive)To make white; to whiten; to bleach.

   “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.”

   “so as no fuller on earth can white them”

   “In a very few hours I arrived in a city that always makes me think of a whited sepulchre.”

name

1. (countable, uncountable)A common British and Irish surname transferred from the nickname.

   “When Dana White barreled up to the microphone, at Donald Trump’s request, to say his piece on election night, it represented confirmation of the UFC CEO’s status as one of the key members of the president-elect’s inner circle.”

2. (countable, uncountable)A locale in the United States:
3. (countable, uncountable)A locale in the United States:
4. (countable, uncountable)A locale in the United States:
5. (countable, uncountable)A locale in the United States: