Definition of DYE

dye

Plural: dyce, dyes

Noun

  • a usually soluble substance for staining or coloring e.g. fabrics or hair
  • A colourant, especially one that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is applied.
  • Any hue or color.
  • Archaic spelling of die (“a cube used in games of chance”).

Verb

Verb Forms: dyed, dyeing, dyes

  • To color or stain something using a coloring agent.
  • color with dye
    • "Please dye these shoes"
  • To colour with dye, or as if with dye.

Examples

  • He watched his Scrabble points dye a deep red as his opponent’s score surged ahead.
  • You look different. Have you had your hair dyed?

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English deie, from Old English dēah, dēag (“color, hue, dye”), from Proto-West Germanic *daugu (“colour, shade”), from *daugan (“to conceal, be dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“to smoke, raise dust, camouflage”).
Cognates
Cognate with Old High German tougan (“dark, secretive”), tougal (“dark, hidden, covert”), Old English dēagol, dīegle (“dark, hidden, secret”), Old English dohs, dox (“dusky, dark”). See dusk.

Scrabble Score: 7

dye: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
dye: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
dye: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 6

dye: valid Words With Friends Word