a pale yellow, sometimes reddish or brownish, fossil resin of vegetable origin, translucent, brittle, and capable of gaining a negative electrical charge by friction and of being an excellent insulator: used for making jewelry and other ornamental articles.
the yellowish-brown color of resin.
of the color of amber; yellowish-brown.
amber fields of grain.
made of amber.
amber earrings.
a yellow or yellowish-brown hard translucent fossil resin derived from extinct coniferous trees that occurs in Tertiary deposits and often contains trapped insects. It is used for jewellery, ornaments, etc
( as modifier )
an amber necklace
a strange relic or reminder of the past
a medium to dark brownish-yellow colour, often somewhat orange, similar to that of the resin
( as adjective )
an amber dress
an amber traffic light used as a warning between red and green
Certain trees, especially conifers, produce a sticky substance called resin to protect themselves against insects. Normally, it decays in oxygen through the action of bacteria. However, if the resin happens to fall into wet mud or sand containing little oxygen, it can harden and eventually fossilize, becoming the yellowish, translucent substance known as amber. If any insects or other organisms are trapped in the resin before it hardens, they can be preserved, often in exquisite detail. By studying these preserved organisms, scientists are able learn key facts about life on Earth millions of years ago.
1350–1400; Middle English ambre < Old French < Medieval Latin ambra < Arabic ʿanbar ambergris; confusion of the dissimilar substances perhaps because both were rare, valuable, and found on seacoasts
Amber is a brownish yellow color. Many cats have green eyes but those with amber eyes are likely to have yellow or white fur. Amber is also a translucent golden or honeyed-yellow colored gemstone, often used to make jewelry. That's where the color amber gets its name. Amber comes from the ocean floor — most of it is harvested from the Baltic Sea off the coast of Russia. The most likely origin of amber is the Latin word for "bitter," amarus, as the color yellow was often associated with bitterness and envy.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The blue-lit monotony of every day is replaced by warm amber table lamps and dimly lit corners flanked by books on all sides.
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026
Its red-white-and-blue website shows the Statue of Liberty and a person wearing a cowboy hat striding with a partner through amber waves of grain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Though the Met Office amber warning for extreme heat that covered large swathes of England on Thursday expired at midnight, high temperatures will linger in central and eastern parts of England on Friday.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
An amber heat health alert, warning of significant detrimental impacts to health and social care services is in place across the whole of England until 21:00 BST on Friday.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The pups all gaze up at me with wide amber eyes.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Until last year, Conroy, 32, and his partner Amber, 28, saw little prospect of owning their own home.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
There’s nothing at all modest about Amber Liekhus’ musical talent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
The island later served as the setting for Depp and now-ex-wife Amber Heard’s wedding celebrations in 2015.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
Early one morning on a recent weekday, Amber Nguyen was driving her 2025 Lexus SUV on a highway to a work meeting when she heard a loud bang.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
Amber light from the sunset found entry through the windows and some irregular holes in the roof, but not enough to dispel the murkiness.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
I would swim early in the morning when the water was still or late at night as the sun set, casting stunning ambers and pinks streaks through the sky.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2025
The sunrise ambers and midnight blues of Joshua Cutts’s lighting design illuminate Michael’s states of mind as much as they do time and place.
From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2023
The set design by Clint Ramos and Miguel Urbino emphasizes depth of field, its white framework a receptive canvas for Linda Cho’s refined midcentury costumes and the warm ambers of David Weiner’s lighting.
From New York Times ● Jun. 22, 2023
By and by the moon rose out of the pearl-greys and ambers in the east, bevies of black rooks flew homeward, and stillness settled over the face of the brown lake.
From Penelope's Irish Experiences by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin
When the great South African sun rose and flooded the veld with miraculous liquid ambers and flaming, melted rubies, the deep, wide grave at last was done.
From The Dop Doctor by Richard Dehan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
