coloring
AmericanUsage
Spelling tips for coloring The word coloring is hard to spell for two reasons. First, it can be tempting to use a double l or double r. Second, in British English, the word is spelled with a u (colouring), unlike in American English. How to spell coloring: When it comes to color, keep it simple. Too much color, and too many letters, is distracting. You don't need any extra letters, like a double l, double r, or u. Then, you add the suffix -ing to the base word color to form coloring.
Other Word Forms
- noncoloring adjective
Etymology
Origin of coloring
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; color, -ing 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The image invokes a children’s coloring book with darker undertones, blending various cartoon and drawing styles to depict Adam and Eve in paradise.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026
That said, the weakness in software stocks appears to be coloring Wall Street analysts’ forecasts.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 4, 2026
In the case of food coloring, Faber said those agreements were made possible because the Republican-leaning West Virginia in 2025 enacted a broad ban on synthetic dyes, setting a new standard.
From Barron's • Jan. 15, 2026
Measuring about 6-7 centimeters in body length, D. bifluviale stands out with its distinctive coloring and a wheat-colored tongue -- features that set it apart from closely related species.
From Science Daily • Oct. 30, 2025
I imagined that I was coloring inside the lines of a coloring book, but the pencil was waxy and smudgy and an eye is nothing like a flat sheet of paper.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
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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.