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food coloring

food coloring

14 1.4
A liquid or powder that people add to food to give it color
  • noun
  • /fuːd ˈkʌlərɪŋ/
  • US
translation icon : colorante alimentario
  • Just make a regular cake and then put food coloring in it; it will look the same, promise.
  • red food coloring
  • yellow food coloring
  • green food coloring

I've dyed it blue with a few drops of sky blue food coloring dye.

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Examples

  • And to make our lettuce, you'll need a little bit of green food coloring and shredded coconut.

  • For the green frosting, I halved the buttercream recipe and used green food coloring instead.

    Blog text (18)
  • And then we added some green food coloring for fun.

  • And my daughter loves food coloring and she plays with it all the time in the kitchen.

  • We can even put red food coloring in it.

  • I used a white cake box mix and added red food coloring to get a nice pink.

    Blog text (15)
  • Now we're going to add the food coloring and make some guacamole.

  • And now we're just going to add some blue food coloring and make this the bluest pasta that you have ever seen.

  • The kitchen table was littered with squeeze bulbs of food coloring, a bottle of vinegar, and bowls.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • To make the cake more festive, we decided to use bright red food coloring in the frosting.

Synonyms

color
vsfood coloring
  • US
514 1.0

A paint or dye used to give something a particular shade

is tailored for edible use and usually does not change flavor
dye
vsfood coloring
85 2.0

A substance used to change the color of cloth or hair

is made for safe edible application and mainly used for decoration
coloring
vsfood coloring
  • US
26 1.0

A safe substance added to food or drink to change its color

is intended for edible use and usually keeps the taste unchanged
food color
vsfood coloring
  • Specialized
1 2.3

A thing added to food or drink to change how it looks

is meant for edible use and commonly restores appearance without flavor change
colorant
vsfood coloring
  • US
1 4.0

A thing added to food, fabric, paint, or cosmetics to give color

is specific to edible items and focuses on appearance without altering taste
coloring material
vsfood coloring
  • US
3.3

A substance that gives color to something like food or cloth

is formulated for consumption and used mainly for decoration or identification

How Bright

food coloring
  • US
14 1.4
tint
12 2.5

Surface Forms

Morphology

food + coloring

The meaning 'a substance added to food to give it color' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'food' (what is being colored) with 'coloring' (a substance used to color). This is a literal, descriptive compound noun following a common noun-noun modification pattern found across many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.

Etymology

Food coloring comes from its simple job: food + coloring, meaning something that 'colors' food. Think of dropping a little liquid into icing like an artist adding paint to a picture, and that's why it means 'a substance added to food to give it color'.