umber
Syllables: um·ber/ˈʌmbə/US/ˈʌmbɚ/
umber noun: a brown clay, somewhat darker than ochre, which contains iron and manganese oxides. Also the alternative form of umbrere.
Noun
umber (countable and uncountable, plural umbers)
- A brown clay, somewhat darker than ochre, which contains iron and manganese oxides.
- They instructed the upholsterer to do the sofa in cinnamon and the ottoman in umber.
- I'll put myself in poor and mean attire,
And with a kind of umber smirch my face;
The like do you; so shall we pass along,
And never stir assailants.c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- A grayling.
- A dusky brown African wading bird (Scopus umbretta) allied to the shoebill and herons; a hamerkop.
Adjective
umber (not comparable)
- Of a reddish brown colour, like that of the pigment.
- Their harps are of the umber shade / That hides the blush of waking day.1819, Joseph Rodman Drake, The Culprit Fay
Verb
umber (third-person singular simple present umbers, present participle umbering, simple past and past participle umbered)
- To give a reddish-brown colour to.
- Armies o'er armies heap'd, the locusts came,
Like clouds in autumn umbering all the sky […]1807, Charles Hoyle, Exodus
- Armies o'er armies heap'd, the locusts came,
Also used as
umber is also the alternative form of umbrere.
Forms of umber
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | umbers |
| alternative form | umbre |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | umbers |
| present participle | umbering |
| past participle | umbered |
| past | umbered |
Origin of umber
From Middle French ombre (“umber”), from terre d'ombre (“dark ochre”), from Old French umbre (“shade, shadow”), from Latin umbra. Doublet of umbra.
Words formed from umber
- mottled umber
- umber moth
- burnt umber
- Cologne umber
- Cumbrian umber
- olivaceous-umber
- raw umber
- umber bird
- umbery
- umbrinous
Phrases with umber
Words that rhyme with umber
Questions about umber
- What does umber mean?
- Umber means a brown clay, somewhat darker than ochre, which contains iron and manganese oxides.
- What part of speech is umber?
- Umber can be a noun, an adjective or a verb.
- How do you pronounce umber?
- Umber is pronounced /ˈʌmbə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of umber?
- The plural of umber is umbers.
Words near umber in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: umber (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-umber.wav.
Cite this entry: “umber.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/umber. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.