red ocher

noun

: a red earthy hematite used as a pigment

Examples of red ocher in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Behind his left shoulder was a charm made up of 29 iridescent sunrise tellin shells, a lump of red ocher and a fish bone tool used to scratch designs into human skin. —Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Jan. 2024

But Taylor makes Hammons even more remarkable, taking Hammons back to his symbolic roots — in front of the red ocher facade of the Great Mosque at Djenné in Mali — with a grinning hyena nearby. —Roberta Smith, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2023

The barge skippers are highly competitive, in their own way, but their race is now largely about the preservation of British tradition, recalling a time when thousands of these craft plied the River Thames, transporting cargo — coal, barley, rubbish — under red ocher sails. —William Booth, Washington Post, 24 July 2023

Press the person’s skin (or sea lion skin, in a pinch) back on, and paint it with black manganese or, in later eras, red ocher. —Maggie Shipstead Anthony Cotsifas, New York Times, 10 May 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined above