Words / B2

DEYE/daɪ/

Dye is a substance used to change the colour of something; as a verb, to colour that way: hair dye; dye the fabric. Colour is everyday; stain is often unwanted; pigment is a close science twin. Name the dye in the textile practical, then the fastness test. Mix-up: dye vs die (to stop living — a classic spelling trap); day; do not write dye for a hair advert with no fastness or named compound.

Meaning

A substance used to change the colour of something; as a verb, to colour that way.

Examples

• “Name the dye in the textile practical, then the fastness test, not a hair advert.”
• “A natural dye featured in the history source, which is the plant-colourant sense — still name the plant.”

Good to know

hair / fabric dye; dye + object; dyed. Science twin: pigment. Spelling trap: die. DT, chemistry, and history. A colouring substance, or to colour with it — name the compound or the plant.

Near in meaning

colourant, pigment, stain

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