palette

IPA/ˈpælət/
KK[pˈælət]IPA/ˈpælət/

palette — noun

  • palettesingular
  • palettesplural

1. a flat board, often with a thumb hole, that painters hold while they blend wet c

1.nounB2
Definition

a flat board, often with a thumb hole, that painters hold while they blend wet colours during a painting session.

Example

Felipe wiped green paint across the palette before adding white for the sky.

wipe paint across the palette

The teacher held a wooden palette in one hand and a brush in the other.

hold a palette in one hand

Common collocations
  • wooden palette
  • paint on a palette
  • hold a palette
  • clean the palette
Synonyms
  • paint board

    a plain descriptive phrase for the artist's board

  • mixing board

    stresses the surface where colours are blended

Grammar Patterns

hold + a palette + in one hand

mix/blend + colours + on a palette

Usage Note

Usually refers to the hand-held board used while painting, not to the finished set of colours in an artwork. It often appears with words such as wooden, paint, or artist's.

2. the group of colours that an artist, designer, film, or photograph regularly use

2.nounC1
Definition

the group of colours that an artist, designer, film, or photograph regularly uses to create a particular visual mood.

Example

Critics praised the film's dark palette of grey, blue, and smoky green.

a dark palette of colours

Sayaka's palette became warmer after she moved from oil to pastel work.

palette became warmer

Common collocations
  • dark palette
  • warm palette
  • muted palette
  • limited palette
Synonyms
  • color scheme

    broader and can describe any planned set of colours

  • tonal range

    more technical and often stresses light-dark balance

Grammar Patterns

a warm/dark/muted palette

use + a palette + of colours

Usage Note

Often modified by warm, cool, muted, or dark. Distinguish from sense 3: this sense is tied to an artist's or image-maker's visual style, not to the colours chosen for a room.

3. the set of colours chosen for a room, home, or other decorated space.

3.nounB2
Definition

the set of colours chosen for a room, home, or other decorated space.

Example

Élise chose a warm palette of cream and clay for the living room.

choose a palette for a room

The hotel's palette mixes sand, white, and pale blue in every bedroom.

palette mixes wall colours

Common collocations
  • neutral palette
  • light palette
  • room palette
  • palette for the living room
Synonyms
  • color scheme

    the most general everyday term for chosen room colours

  • decor palette

    used especially when discussing interior styling

Grammar Patterns

choose + a palette + for a room

a palette of + wall/fabric colours

Usage Note

Common in home-design talk. Unlike sense 2, it describes colours selected for a physical space rather than an artist's habitual visual style.

4. the collection of colours that a computer program, device, or screen can display

4.nounC1
Definition

the collection of colours that a computer program, device, or screen can display or let a user choose.

Example

This old printer cannot reproduce every colour in the screen palette.

every colour in the screen palette

Design students reduced the palette to sixteen colours for the game icon.

reduce the palette to sixteen colours

Common collocations
  • limited palette
  • custom palette
  • screen palette
  • palette of sixteen colours
Synonyms
  • color table

    a more technical term used in software and graphics work

  • color set

    a plain phrase for the available group of colours

Grammar Patterns

reduce + the palette + to + number of colours

save/load + a custom palette

Usage Note

Often appears in computing or digital-design contexts with words like custom, limited, or screen. It names the colours a system offers, not the colours a person prefers.

5. a slim makeup case that holds several shades of the same cosmetic, such as eye s

5.nounB2
Definition

a slim makeup case that holds several shades of the same cosmetic, such as eye shadow or highlighter.

Example

Eshe slipped a small palette into her bag before the wedding dinner.

slip a palette into a bag

The beauty counter displayed a new palette with six shades of brown.

a palette with six shades

Common collocations
  • eye-shadow palette
  • highlighter palette
  • palette with six shades
  • travel palette
Synonyms
  • makeup compact

    broader because a compact may hold one product rather than many shades

  • eye-shadow set

    more specific when the palette contains eye colours

Grammar Patterns

a palette with + number of shades

slip/pack + a palette + into a bag

Usage Note

Usually refers to a compact case sold for cosmetics, especially eye shadow, blush, or highlighter. Distinguish from sense 1: this palette stores makeup rather than wet paint.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

For sense 2, 'palette' usually suggests a selected group of colours that gives an artist, film, or design its special mood. 'Color scheme' is broader and works for websites, clothes, rooms, or posters, so it sounds less tied to personal artistic style. 'Tonal range' is more technical and often focuses on how light, dark, bright, or muted the colours are, rather than on the exact hues chosen. 'Spectrum' is the loosest match: it often means a full spread of possibilities and can sound scientific or abstract. Compare: 'the director's cold palette,' 'the website's blue color scheme,' 'the photograph's narrow tonal range,' and 'a spectrum of vivid colours.'

palette ↗color scheme ↗tonal rangespectrum ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • a warm palette
  • a limited palette
  • a palette of blues
  • a palette with six shades

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

'Palette' reached English through French and goes back to Latin 'pala', meaning a flat shovel or blade. The early image was a small flat surface shaped like a little blade. That helps explain the oldest everyday sense: the board an artist holds while mixing paint. From that physical object, English later widened the word to mean an arranged set of colours, whether in a painting, a room, a computer program, or a makeup case.