PINK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pink mean? 

• PINK (noun)
  The noun PINK has 3 senses:

1. a light shade of red

2. any of various flowers of plants of the genus Dianthus cultivated for their fragrant flowers

3. a person with mildly leftist political views

  Familiarity information: PINK used as a noun is uncommon.

• PINK (adjective)
  The adjective PINK has 1 sense:

1. of a light shade of red

  Familiarity information: PINK used as an adjective is very rare.

• PINK (verb)
  The verb PINK has 3 senses:

1. make light, repeated taps on a surface

2. sound like a car engine that is firing too early

3. cut in a zigzag pattern with pinking shears, in sewing

  Familiarity information: PINK used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PINK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A light shade of red

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("pink" is a kind of...):

chromatic color; chromatic colour; spectral color; spectral colour (a color that has hue)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pink"):

pinkness (the quality of being pink)

carnation (a pink or reddish-pink color)

rose; rosiness (a dusty pink color)

purplish pink; solferino (a pink dye that was discovered in 1859, the year a battle was fought at Solferino)

apricot; peach; salmon pink; yellowish pink (a shade of pink tinged with yellow)

coral (a variable color averaging a deep pink)

Derivation:

pink (of a light shade of red)

pinkify (make pink)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any of various flowers of plants of the genus Dianthus cultivated for their fragrant flowers

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

garden pink; pink

Hypernyms ("pink" is a kind of...):

flower (a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pink"):

Dianthus barbatus; sweet William (Eurasian pink widely cultivated for its flat-topped dense clusters of varicolored flowers)

carnation; clove pink; Dianthus caryophyllus; gillyflower (Eurasian plant with pink to purple-red spice-scented usually double flowers; widely cultivated in many varieties and many colors)

china pink; Dianthus chinensis; rainbow pink (Chinese pink with deeply toothed rose-lilac flowers with a purplish eye; usually raised as an annual)

Dianthus deltoides; maiden pink (low-growing loosely mat-forming Eurasian pink with a single pale pink flower with a crimson center)

cheddar pink; Diangus gratianopolitanus (mat-forming perennial of central Europe with large fragrant pink or red flowers)

button pink; Dianthus latifolius (much-branched pink with flowers in clusters; closely related to sweet William)

cottage pink; Dianthus plumarius; grass pink (European pink cultivated for its very fragrant pink or rosy flowers)

Dianthus supurbus; fringed pink (Eurasian perennial pink having fragrant lilac or rose flowers with deeply fringed margins)

Holonyms ("pink" is a member of...):

Dianthus; genus Dianthus (carnations and pinks)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A person with mildly leftist political views

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

pink; pinko

Hypernyms ("pink" is a kind of...):

collectivist; left-winger; leftist (a person who belongs to the political left)

• PINK (adjective)

Comparative: pinker   
Superlative: pinkest   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of a light shade of red

Synonyms:

pink; pinkish

Similar:

chromatic (being or having or characterized by hue)

Derivation:

pink (a light shade of red)

• PINK (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they pink    ... he / she / it pinks   
Past simple: pinked   
Past participle: pinked   
-ing form: pinking   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make light, repeated taps on a surface

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

knock; pink; rap; tap

Context example:

he was tapping his fingers on the table impatiently

Hypernyms (to "pink" is one way to...):

go; sound (make a certain noise or sound)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Sound like a car engine that is firing too early

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

knock; ping; pink

Context example:

The car pinked when the ignition was too far retarded

Hypernyms (to "pink" is one way to...):

go; sound (make a certain noise or sound)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cut in a zigzag pattern with pinking shears, in sewing

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "pink" is one way to...):

cut (separate with or as if with an instrument)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

 Context examples 

Any rod shaped, anaerobic bacteria that can convert carbohydrates into acids and alcohols and has a cell wall contains low levels of peptidoglycan and stains pink with the Gram staining technique.

(Fermentative Gram Negative Bacillus, NCI Thesaurus)

Any bacteria whose shape is similar to those bacteria assigned to the Corynebacterium genus and have a cell wall that contains low levels of peptidoglycan and stains pink with the Gram staining technique.

(Coryneform Gram Positive Bacillus, NCI Thesaurus)

Its color is usually uneven and can range from pink to dark brown.

(Atypical mole, NCI Dictionary)

Any rod shaped bacteria that contains low levels of peptidoglycan in its cell wall and stains pink with the Gram staining technique.

(Gram Negative Bacillus, NCI Thesaurus)

Any spherical shaped bacteria that contains low levels of peptidoglycan in its cell wall and stains pink with the Gram staining technique.

(Gram Negative Coccus, NCI Thesaurus)

Moles are usually pink, tan or brown.

(Moles, NIH: National Cancer Institute)

You are in the pink of condition.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Do your hair the pretty way, and put the pink rose in your bonnet.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Any spherical shaped bacteria that does not require oxygen to grow or respirate and has a cell wall that contains low levels of peptidoglycan and stains pink with the Gram staining technique.

(Anaerobic Gram Negative Coccus, NCI Thesaurus)

As she did not seem quite willing, and as they could not be parted from each other, he wished that she might be changed into a beautiful pink, and took her with him.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)