primary color

noun

1. Art.,  a color, as red, yellow, or blue, that in mixture yields other colors.

2. Optics.,  any of a set of monochromatic colors, as red, green, and blue, that are added to match or specify the chromaticity of a stimulus or sample.

primary color

1. Any of a group of colors from which all other colors can be made by mixing.

2. See more at additive subtractive See Note at color

Word History and Origins

Origin of primary color¹

First recorded in 1605–15

Example Sentences

The pieces’ geometric shapes and primary colors echo the subway tile on the walls.

From Los Angeles Times

Adding to the mystique is a painterly palette of primary colors.

From Los Angeles Times

Shot in saturated primary colors, the visual of the song finds her seducing both the camera and her dancing partner in no uncertain terms.

From Los Angeles Times

And we learn that there are three primary colors — red, yellow and blue — from which all other colors can be mixed.

From Salon

But it’s not just the overabundance of a divisive primary color that makes the image so unnerving.

From Salon