What does "ochre" mean?
A clay earth pigment containing silica, aluminum and ferric oxide.
Ochre
/ˈoʊkɚ/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A clay earth pigment containing silica, aluminum and ferric oxide.
- Grammar: ochre is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: adobe, brownish, dutch oker, earth color.
- Useful contrasts: blue, bright, colorless.
- Usage evidence: "What's your favourite colour? Do you have a favourite colour?" "My favourite colour is ochre."
How to use "ochre"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "ochre" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "ochre" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "ochre" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "ochre" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "ochre" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "adobe" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "ochre", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A clay earth pigment containing silica, aluminum and ferric oxide. countable, uncountable
- 2 Alternative form of okra. alt-of, alternative, countable, obsolete, uncountable
- 3 a moderate yellow-orange to orange color wordnet
- 4 A somewhat dark yellowish orange colour. countable, uncountable
- 5 any of various earths containing silica and alumina and ferric oxide; used as a pigment wordnet
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 The stop codon sequence "UAA". colloquial, countable, uncountable
- 7 Money, especially gold. countable, dated, slang, uncountable
"‘What does he come here cheeking us for, then?’ cried Master Kidderminster, showing a very irascible temperament. ‘If you want to cheek us, pay your ochre at the doors and take it out.’"
- 8 Any of various brown-coloured hesperiid butterflies of the genus Trapezites. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To cover or tint with ochre.
"[…] his eye was caught by the sight of one child in a group of smaller children playing in the shallows some little distance down—a white child, so white by contrast with the others that at first he thought it must be ochred, which it could not be while playing in the water."
Adjective
- 1 Having a yellow-orange colour. not-comparable
- 2 Referring to cultures that covered their dead with ochre. not-comparable
Adjective
- 1 of a moderate orange-yellow color wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
""What's your favourite colour? Do you have a favourite colour?" "My favourite colour is ochre.""
Common questions
What is a synonym for "ochre"?
Common synonyms include: adobe, brownish, dutch oker, earth color, earth pigment, earthy.
How do you use "ochre" in a sentence?
"What's your favourite colour? Do you have a favourite colour?" "My favourite colour is ochre."
How do you pronounce "ochre"?
Pronounced /ˈoʊkɚ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Old French ocre and its source Latin ōchra, from Ancient Greek ὤχρα (ṓkhra, “pale yellow”), from ὠχρός (ōkhrós, “pale, ocher”) (modern Greek ωχρός (ochrós)).
Etymology 2
From an unknown West African language, probably Igbo ọ́kụ̀rụ̀, but compare Akan ŋkrũmã and ŋkrakra (“broth”).