: a ship with a narrow overhanging stern
called also pinkie
1
: any of a genus (Dianthus of the family Caryophyllaceae, the pink family) of chiefly Eurasian herbs having usually pink, red, or white flowers
1
: any of a group of colors bluish red to red in hue, of medium to high lightness, and of low to moderate saturation
2
a
: the scarlet color of a fox hunter's coat
also
: a fox hunter's coat of this color
b
: pink-colored clothing
c
pinks plural
: light-colored trousers formerly worn by army officers
3
: pinko
1
: of the color pink
2
: holding moderately radical and usually socialistic political or economic views
3
: emotionally moved : excited
—often used as an intensive
tickled pink
pinkness
noun
pinked; pinking; pinks
1
a
: to perforate in an ornamental pattern
b
: to cut a saw-toothed edge on
Did you know?
The verb pink referring to perforation and piercing is from a Middle English word meaning "to thrust." It dates to the early 16th century whereas the noun referring to the color pink and its related adjective date to the 17th and 18th centuries, respectively.
Synonyms
Examples of pink in a Sentence
Adjective
Her dress is pale pink.
Verb
accidentally pinked my shoulder with his fencing sword
Recent Examples on the Web
Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 3 Apr. 2024
Critics claimed last month that the team’s new hot pink and lilac away kit is untraditional, while advocates say the colors represent diversity.
—Kate Brady, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024
Put away your baby pinks and butter yellow nail polishes and channel springtime weather with winged creatures instead!
—Kara Nesvig, Allure, 2 Apr. 2024
The hoodie comes in seven colors, including neutral and bright options: black, light gray, white, navy blue, turquoise, light pink, and hot pink.
—Lindsey Greenfeld, Peoplemag, 28 Mar. 2024
For her, that meant toned-down, muted pinks and mauve desert tones.
—Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Mar. 2024
Out May 17, the set will be pressed on opaque baby pink and spring green vinyl, feature an alternative album cover, and come with an eight-page booklet.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2024
The Rooms The hotel has 149 guest rooms and suites, all designed with modern furnishings rendered in warm woods tones and muted pastel shades like sage green, coral pink and robin’s egg.
—Denny Lee, Travel + Leisure, 17 Mar. 2024
Spring nail colors usually call to mind pastels like lilac, baby pink, and light yellow.
—Ariana Yaptangco, Glamour, 13 Mar. 2024
David Montesino, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Apr. 2024
Bursting strategically in the garden are large swaths of pink and orange African daisies.
—Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Apr. 2024
Invictus Victory Eau de Parfum This scent is more popular among younger men due to the lemon and pink pepper top scent that flows well with the lavender middle fragrance, and the amber, vanilla, tonka bean base fragrance.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 5 Apr. 2024
Phan wore a floaty beige mini dress for the outing, while her dark hair had been slicked back into a bun with a baby pink scrunchie.
—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
Seeds of Cheyenne Spirit are readily available and grow a mix of purple, pink, red, orange, yellow.
—Melinda Myers, Journal Sentinel, 5 Apr. 2024
While hydrangea blooms come in a wide variety of colors, viburnum flowers are white or pink.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 4 Apr. 2024
Parker could be seen holding a JW Anderson pigeon clutch from season 2 while Davis was dressed in a sliming black ensemble with a pink satin bow and a white peter pan collar.
—Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 26 Mar. 2024
Though Pierpaolo Piccioli might be known for his deft use of a certain shade of pink—the eye-catching color has since been dubbed Pierpaolo Pink—he’s also given the world a gorgeous array of bridal looks in all shades of wedding white.
—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 25 Mar. 2024
Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
These iconic, unisex flip-flops come in 20 colors from black to pink, all with the instantly recognizable green-and-yellow Brazilian flag and contrasting Havaianas logo displayed prominently on the foot strap.
—Jessica MacDonald, Travel + Leisure, 27 Feb. 2024
These warm, memory foam slip-ons come in plenty of colors from chestnut to pink, tan, black, and gray.
—Meaghan Kenny, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Dec. 2023
These patches should reduce some of that color, perhaps from red to pink after one use.
—Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 9 Feb. 2024
From organic green terrazzo with blue cement background, to pink marble terrazzo embedded in a pink granite.
—Grace Banks, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
The brand has been handing out seasonal cups since 1997 and this year’s batch features a surprising color for the first time: pink!
—Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 6 Dec. 2023
The 50-petal-count blooms offer a unique color-changing effect that transitions from red to pink with a pale yellow to cream petal reverse.
—Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Dec. 2023
There’s a huge range of content, from white noise, through to pink and brown noise, naturescapes, southbaths, customizable bedtime stories, and loads more.
—Rachael Hogg, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Oct. 2023
Noun
Coquette This aesthetic is all things lace, bows, pinks and pastels, florals, and ruffles.
—Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 3 Apr. 2024
Critics claimed last month that the team’s new hot pink and lilac away kit is untraditional, while advocates say the colors represent diversity.
—Kate Brady, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024
Put away your baby pinks and butter yellow nail polishes and channel springtime weather with winged creatures instead!
—Kara Nesvig, Allure, 2 Apr. 2024
The hoodie comes in seven colors, including neutral and bright options: black, light gray, white, navy blue, turquoise, light pink, and hot pink.
—Lindsey Greenfeld, Peoplemag, 28 Mar. 2024
For her, that meant toned-down, muted pinks and mauve desert tones.
—Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Mar. 2024
Out May 17, the set will be pressed on opaque baby pink and spring green vinyl, feature an alternative album cover, and come with an eight-page booklet.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2024
The Rooms The hotel has 149 guest rooms and suites, all designed with modern furnishings rendered in warm woods tones and muted pastel shades like sage green, coral pink and robin’s egg.
—Denny Lee, Travel + Leisure, 17 Mar. 2024
Spring nail colors usually call to mind pastels like lilac, baby pink, and light yellow.
—Ariana Yaptangco, Glamour, 13 Mar. 2024
Adjective
And just off to the north and to the east, beneath this layer of dark, dark sky, there is a lovely pink and orange horizon; an orange and gold color.
—David Montesino, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Apr. 2024
Bursting strategically in the garden are large swaths of pink and orange African daisies.
—Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Apr. 2024
Invictus Victory Eau de Parfum This scent is more popular among younger men due to the lemon and pink pepper top scent that flows well with the lavender middle fragrance, and the amber, vanilla, tonka bean base fragrance.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 5 Apr. 2024
Phan wore a floaty beige mini dress for the outing, while her dark hair had been slicked back into a bun with a baby pink scrunchie.
—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
Seeds of Cheyenne Spirit are readily available and grow a mix of purple, pink, red, orange, yellow.
—Melinda Myers, Journal Sentinel, 5 Apr. 2024
While hydrangea blooms come in a wide variety of colors, viburnum flowers are white or pink.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 4 Apr. 2024
Parker could be seen holding a JW Anderson pigeon clutch from season 2 while Davis was dressed in a sliming black ensemble with a pink satin bow and a white peter pan collar.
—Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 26 Mar. 2024
Though Pierpaolo Piccioli might be known for his deft use of a certain shade of pink—the eye-catching color has since been dubbed Pierpaolo Pink—he’s also given the world a gorgeous array of bridal looks in all shades of wedding white.
—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 25 Mar. 2024
Verb
Will pink and black loom large this week in Las Vegas?
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
These iconic, unisex flip-flops come in 20 colors from black to pink, all with the instantly recognizable green-and-yellow Brazilian flag and contrasting Havaianas logo displayed prominently on the foot strap.
—Jessica MacDonald, Travel + Leisure, 27 Feb. 2024
These warm, memory foam slip-ons come in plenty of colors from chestnut to pink, tan, black, and gray.
—Meaghan Kenny, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Dec. 2023
These patches should reduce some of that color, perhaps from red to pink after one use.
—Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 9 Feb. 2024
From organic green terrazzo with blue cement background, to pink marble terrazzo embedded in a pink granite.
—Grace Banks, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
The brand has been handing out seasonal cups since 1997 and this year’s batch features a surprising color for the first time: pink!
—Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 6 Dec. 2023
The 50-petal-count blooms offer a unique color-changing effect that transitions from red to pink with a pale yellow to cream petal reverse.
—Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Dec. 2023
There’s a huge range of content, from white noise, through to pink and brown noise, naturescapes, southbaths, customizable bedtime stories, and loads more.
—Rachael Hogg, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pink.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near pink
Cite this Entry
“Pink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pink. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pink
1 of 3 noun1
: any of a genus of herbs that have narrow leaves and are often grown for their showy usually pink flowers produced singly or in clusters
2
: the highest degree
athletes in the pink of condition
pink
2 of 3 noun
: a pale red
pink
adjective
pinkish
adjective
ˈpiŋ-kish
pinkness
noun
pink
3 of 3 verb
: to cut cloth, leather, or paper in an ornamental pattern or with a saw-toothed edge
Etymology
Noun
origin unknown
Verb
from earlier pink "stab, pierce," from Middle English pinken "to thrust"
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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