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

Each dye roll holds 20 repeating sets of four panels: cyan, yellow, and magenta primary colors, plus a clear protective layer. —PCMAG, 23 Oct. 2024

There are six tertiary colors because of the mixing of the three primary colors with three secondary colors, and they are located between primary and secondary colors on the color wheel. —Kate Reggev, Architectural Digest, 8 Oct. 2024

The building is a 3D expression of Piet Mondrian’s abstract geometric paintings, blending inside/outside spaces through intersecting horizontal/vertical lines, with pops of primary colors dotted throughout. —Gurdeep Loyal, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Oct. 2024

Color preference is always going to vary from person to person—for instance, Andrade doesn’t gravitate toward primary colors. —Erika Owen, Architectural Digest, 26 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined above

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