OMBRE Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com (original) (raw)

[om-brey] / ˈɒm breɪ /

Or ombré

adjective

  1. having a pattern in which colors or tones fade into one another: The dress has an ombre effect with various intensities of purple fading to white.

    Her ombre hair goes from brown at the top to bleached blond at the bottom.

    The dress has an ombre effect with various intensities of purple fading to white.

noun

  1. an 18th-century card game

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ombre

First recorded in 1840–45; from French ombré “shadowed, shaded,” past participle of ombrer, from Italian ombrare “to cover in shadow” (in painting); see origin at umber, umbra ( def. )

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.

Kiki Rice dribbled to the hoop, deked and then put up a shot over the Toronto Tempo practice squad, crisp ombre blue-and-burgundy nails releasing the ball into the basket.

FromLos Angeles Times • May 17, 2026

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Young poet Gurpreet Saini, who performs at cultural festivals across India, says he sources his shawls - printed with ombre Gurmukhi letters - from Hariana, his hometown in Punjab, for a distinctive look.

FromBBC • May 31, 2025

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In 2019, her daughter requested an ombre tree, and Lee obliged with decorations that transitioned from chartreuse and lime green at the top to royal and marine blues at the bottom.

FromSeattle Times • Dec. 8, 2023

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It has its knitters and crocheters, ombre hairdos, makeup enthusiasts and nail designs.

FromWashington Times • Oct. 24, 2023

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She looked gorgeous, with this ombre lip gloss and a deep burgundy strapless dress that set off her blond hair.

From"From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

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.