tangerine

tangerine — noun

IPA/ˌtæn.dʒəˈriːn/
KK[tˌændʒɚˈin]IPA/ˈtæn.dʒə.riːn/
  • tangerinesingular
  • tangerinesplural

1. a small round citrus fruit, similar to an orange but smaller, with a thin skin y

1.nounA2
Definition

a small round citrus fruit, similar to an orange but smaller, with a thin skin you can pull off easily and segments inside.

Example

Yuki packed two tangerines into her daughter's lunchbox every morning.

countable: two tangerines

The market stall in Taipei sold sweet tangerines for thirty dollars a bag.

collocation: sweet tangerines

Common collocations
  • peel a tangerine
  • sweet tangerine
  • tangerine segments
  • tangerine juice
Synonyms
  • mandarin

    broader category — tangerines are one type of mandarin

  • clementine

    another mandarin variety; usually seedless and slightly sweeter

  • satsuma

    Japanese mandarin variety; very loose skin, milder flavour

Grammar Patterns

a tangerine

peel a tangerine

Usage Note

Countable; usually eaten fresh and pulled apart by hand rather than cut with a knife.

Common Mistakes

I drank a tangerine juice this morning.
I drank some tangerine juice this morning.
tangerine juice is uncountable, like orange juice.

2. a strong reddish-orange colour, named after the fruit's bright skin and often us

2.nounB1
Definition

a strong reddish-orange colour, named after the fruit's bright skin and often used to describe fabric, paint, or sunset light.

Example

Sade chose tangerine for the kitchen walls because it felt warm in the morning light.

noun used as colour name after 'chose / paint'

The sunset over Bali turned the whole sky a soft tangerine.

collocation: a soft tangerine

Common collocations
  • a bright tangerine
  • a soft tangerine
  • painted tangerine
Synonyms
  • orange

    broader colour term; tangerine is a specific reddish shade

  • burnt orange

    darker, more brownish; tangerine is brighter and clearer

Grammar Patterns

the colour tangerine

painted tangerine

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1 (the fruit): here the word names a colour and follows verbs like 'paint', 'choose', or 'turn'. Often appears with intensifiers like 'soft', 'bright', or 'deep'.

Common Mistakes

The wall is in tangerine.
The wall is tangerine.
colour names go directly after 'is', without 'in'.

tangerine — adjective

IPA/ˌtændʒəˈriːn/
KK[tˌændʒɚˈin]IPA/ˈtændʒəriːn/

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four are small loose-skinned citrus fruits in the mandarin family, but learners often confuse them. 'Mandarin' is the umbrella term: every tangerine, clementine, and satsuma is a kind of mandarin, but not every mandarin is a tangerine. 'Tangerine' usually means a mandarin variety with a deeper reddish-orange skin and a slightly tarter, more aromatic taste, common in American and British supermarkets. 'Clementine' is a smaller, almost always seedless mandarin with very sweet juice, popular as a children's snack in Europe. 'Satsuma' is the Japanese mandarin, known for its very loose skin and milder, less acidic flavour. When in doubt, 'mandarin' is the safest general label; reach for 'tangerine' specifically when the fruit is bright reddish-orange and a bit tangy, like 'Yuki bought a kilo of tangerines at the winter market.'

tangerine ↗mandarin ↗clementine ↗satsuma

Common collocations

Nouns

  • tangerine juice
  • tangerine peel
  • tangerine segments
  • tangerine tree

Phrases

  • a bag of tangerines
  • peel a tangerine

Prepositions

  • with (segments / skin)

Etymology

Arabic (Tangier)FrenchEnglish

Tangerine entered English in the mid-1800s as a short form of 'Tangerine orange', meaning 'an orange from Tangier', the Moroccan port from which the fruit was shipped to Europe and North America. The colour sense developed a little later, taking its name directly from the bright skin of the fruit.