Color Word Search Printable

Press New puzzle for 15 color words, from Red to Turquoise, or pick Basic Colors for the 13 beginners need.

Name Date

Color Word Search

Find every word hidden in the grid. Words go across and down.

0 of 15 words found

OPLBROWNCDIORST

ITNHBRQLPTCSASA

IILUYAAAUAMNISM

PINIONECRAYONCF

PPTBKGSOPIBGBNR

DKJLREBNLMAROON

LILACPEUEQQAWES

NHOCIVIOLETYITF

CINKTWOAWWEEOEA

NODQCCGKSHYWLAR

ALPEVHORIITSMLY

EIARRCLIHTSMSXL

CWYSANDHYELLOWG

UCIYKUUJLRIAMCI

GOKPINKTSOMPTTI

This grid is wider and taller than its box. Slide it to see every letter.To drag, hold the first letter for a moment, then slide.Keyboard: Tab to the grid, arrow keys to move, Enter on the first and last letter.

PinkPINK
MaroonMAROON
OrangeORANGE
YellowYELLOW
GoldGOLD
VioletVIOLET
PurplePURPLE
TealTEAL
LilacLILAC
BrownBROWN
BlackBLACK
WhiteWHITE
GrayGRAY
RainbowRAINBOW
CrayonCRAYON

15 of 24 words from the Color list.

Start from a list

Easy: words go across and down.

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Show clues, not words

Word list

Large print Lower-case letters Name and date line on paper

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Answer key: Color Word Search

OPLBROWNCDIORST

ITNHBRQLPTCSASA

IILUYAAAUAMNISM

PINIONECRAYONCF

PPTBKGSOPIBGBNR

DKJLREBNLMAROON

LILACPEUEQQAWES

NHOCIVIOLETYITF

CINKTWOAWWEEOEA

NODQCCGKSHYWLAR

ALPEVHORIITSMLY

EIARRCLIHTSMSXL

CWYSANDHYELLOWG

UCIYKUUJLRIAMCI

GOKPINKTSOMPTTI

PINK, MAROON, ORANGE, YELLOW, GOLD, VIOLET, PURPLE, TEAL, LILAC, BROWN, BLACK, WHITE, GRAY, RAINBOW, CRAYON

Next step Rainbow fans: print the unicorn word search Build a puzzle from your own color words

All 138 words

Basic Colors 13

Black The darkest color: what you see when no light reaches the eye.
Blue The color of a clear daytime sky.
Brown The color of soil, tree bark and chocolate.
Gray Halfway between black and white. This is the usual American spelling; most other English speakers write it with an e.
Green The color of grass and most leaves, and the signal to go.
Indigo A deep blue plant dye. The word is from the Latin for Indian. Newton added it to the rainbow, between blue and violet.
Orange Named after the fruit. Its first record as an English color name is from 1502; before that people said yellow-red.
Pink A pale red, named in the late 1600s after a garden flower with frilled petals, the Dianthus.
Purple From the Greek name of a costly dye made from sea snails at Tyre, which is why it became the color of royalty.
Red The first band of the rainbow, and the signal to stop.
Violet The last band of the rainbow, named after the small flower. An English color name since 1370.
White The color of fresh snow and of plain paper.
Yellow The color of a ripe lemon and the middle of a daisy.

Show all 138 words (125 more)

Reds and Pinks 20

Blush The pale pink that rises in the cheeks.
Brick The brownish red of baked clay blocks.
Burgundy A dark red with a touch of purple.
Cardinal The vivid red of the crested songbird.
Cherry The glossy red of the small stone fruit on a stalk.
Coral A pinkish orange, like the tiny sea animals that build reefs.
Crimson A deep red first made from kermes, a dye from a tiny scale insect. The word goes back to the Arabic qirmizi.
Flamingo The pink of the tall wading bird that stands on one leg.
Fuchsia A vivid purplish pink. The plant it is named after honors the botanist Leonhart Fuchs, so the h comes before the s.
Garnet A dark red gem color, deeper and browner than ruby.
Magenta A purplish pink dye of 1859, renamed after a battle fought that June near an Italian town. Also the M of printer ink.
Maroon A dark brownish red. From marron, the French for chestnut, and a color name in English since 1789.
Poppy The orange red of the field flower.
Raspberry The deep pinkish red of the bramble fruit.
Rose A soft pinkish red, like the flower with the thorny stem.
Ruby The deep red of the precious gem that ranks beside diamond, emerald and sapphire.
Salmon The orange pink of the flesh of a river fish.
Scarlet A bright red with a slight orange tinge. An English color name since about 1250.
Vermilion A brilliant orange red once made by grinding the mineral cinnabar. The word goes back to the Latin for little worm.
Watermelon The pinkish red inside the big striped summer fruit.

Oranges and Yellows 17

Amber The honey yellow of fossil tree resin.
Apricot A pale orange yellow, like the small velvety stone fruit.
Butterscotch The golden brown of the hard candy made from brown sugar.
Canary The bright yellow of the little singing cage bird.
Daffodil The clear yellow of the trumpet-shaped spring flower.
Dandelion The yellow of the lawn weed that turns into a puff of seeds.
Gold The rich yellow of the precious metal.
Honey The golden brown of what bees make.
Lemon The sharp, bright yellow of the sour citrus fruit.
Mango The golden orange of the flesh of a tropical fruit.
Mustard The dull, dark yellow of the spread squeezed on a hot dog.
Peach A soft mix of pink and orange, like the skin of the fuzzy fruit.
Pumpkin The orange of the big autumn squash.
Saffron The orange yellow of the spice that tints rice.
Sunflower The strong yellow of the tall bloom with a dark center full of seeds.
Tangerine The deep orange of the small citrus fruit that peels easily.
Topaz The golden yellow of the gemstone.

Greens 15

Avocado The dull yellowish green of the creamy fruit with the big pit.
Chartreuse The color halfway between yellow and green.
Emerald The rich green of the gemstone.
Fern The fresh green of the feathery woodland plant.
Ivy The dark glossy green of the climbing vine.
Jade The milky green of the carved stone.
Lime The sharp yellow green of the small sour citrus fruit.
Mint The pale, fresh green of the herb in toothpaste.
Moss The soft, dull green that grows on damp stones.
Olive The dull yellowish green of the small, oily fruit.
Pine The dark green of the needles on an evergreen tree.
Pistachio The pale yellowish green of the nut.
Sage The grayish green of the soft-leaved kitchen herb.
Shamrock The bright green of the three-leaved clover.
Spruce The dark bluish green of a northern conifer.

Blues and Purples 24

Amethyst The purple of the quartz gemstone.
Aquamarine The pale blue green of the gemstone.
Azure The blue of a clear sky. The word traces back to the Persian name of the blue stone lapis lazuli.
Cerulean A sky blue, from the Latin caeruleus. An English color name since 1590.
Cobalt A deep, strong blue named after the metal in its pigment.
Cornflower The clear medium blue of the wildflower.
Cyan The blue green ink in a color printer: the C of CMYK.
Denim The faded blue of jeans.
Eggplant The dark purple of the glossy vegetable.
Grape The purple of the fruit that grows in bunches.
Heather The soft grayish purple of the moorland shrub.
Iris The blue purple of the tall garden flower.
Lilac The pale purple of the sweet-smelling spring shrub.
Mauve A pale purple named after the mallow flower. In 1856 William Perkin, aged 18, found the dye while trying to make quinine.
Mulberry The dark purple of the berry that stains fingers.
Navy The dark blue that British sea officers have worn since the uniform rules of 1748.
Orchid The light, bright purple of the tropical flower.
Periwinkle A pale bluish purple, named after the flower Vinca minor. A color name only since 1922.
Plum The dark reddish purple of the stone fruit.
Sapphire The deep blue of the gemstone.
Teal A dark greenish blue, named after a small duck with a stripe of it on its head. A color name since 1917.
Turquoise The greenish blue of the gemstone. The word is Old French for Turkish; a color name in English since 1573.
Ultramarine A vivid blue once ground from lapis lazuli mined in Afghanistan. The Latin name means beyond the sea.
Wisteria The pale purple of the flowers that hang from the climbing vine.

Neutral Colors 24

Beige A pale sandy brown. In French the word first meant wool that had been neither bleached nor dyed.
Caramel The golden brown of melted, cooked sugar.
Charcoal The dark gray of burnt wood used for drawing.
Chestnut The glossy reddish brown of the nut in the spiky shell.
Chocolate The rich dark brown of a candy bar made from cacao.
Cinnamon The reddish brown of the ground bark spice.
Copper The reddish brown of the metal on a penny.
Cream The pale yellowish white that rises to the top of fresh milk.
Ebony The deep black of a very dense tropical wood.
Graphite The dark shiny gray of pencil lead.
Hazel The light greenish brown of some people's eyes.
Ivory The creamy off-white of old piano keys.
Khaki A dull yellowish brown. From a Hindustani word for soil-colored; a uniform of this shade was introduced in 1848.
Mahogany The deep reddish brown of a tropical hardwood.
Mocha A milky coffee brown.
Onyx The glossy black of the polished stone.
Rust The reddish brown that forms on iron left out in the rain.
Sand The pale yellowish brown of a beach.
Sepia The reddish brown of old photographs, named after a pigment from the ink sac of the cuttlefish.
Sienna An earth pigment named after the Italian city of Siena. Raw, it is yellowish brown; heated, it turns reddish brown.
Silver The shiny pale gray of the precious metal.
Slate The bluish gray of the rock once used for roofs and chalkboards.
Snow The pure white of fresh winter flakes.
Taupe A brownish gray. The word is French for mole, after the fur of the little digging animal.

Color Wheel Words 25

Color What the eye makes of light. American spelling; British writers add a u.
Complement The color directly opposite on the wheel: green for red, purple for yellow, orange for blue.
Contrast How strongly two colors differ. Opposites on the wheel, such as blue and orange, make each other look brighter.
Cool The side of the wheel that runs from blue-green through blue-violet.
Crayon A stick of colored wax for drawing.
Dye A substance that soaks into cloth or hair and changes its color.
Gradient A smooth, gradual change from one color to another.
Hue The family a color belongs to on the wheel, such as red or blue, however light or dark it is.
Metallic Shiny like gold, silver or copper.
Monochrome A picture made in tints and shades of only one color.
Neon A color so vivid it seems to glow.
Paint Pigment mixed into a liquid that dries on a surface.
Palette The board a painter mixes on, or the set of colors chosen for one picture.
Pastel A soft, pale color with a lot of white in it.
Pigment The powder or substance that gives paint, ink or skin its color.
Primary One of the three that mix to make the rest: red, yellow and blue in the art room; red, green and blue in light.
Prism A block of glass that splits white light into a rainbow.
Rainbow An arc of sunlight split by raindrops. Isaac Newton first counted five bands in it, then added two to make seven.
Saturation How pure and strong a color is. Mix in gray and it drops.
Secondary An even mix of two primaries. In paint these are orange, green and purple.
Shade A color mixed with black, which makes it darker.
Spectrum The whole band of colors in light, from red at one end to violet at the other.
Tint A color mixed with white, which makes it lighter.
Tone A color mixed with gray.
Warm The side of the wheel that runs from red through yellow.

How this list was compiled: 138 color words chosen and defined for this site: seven themed lists (basic and rainbow colors, reds and pinks, oranges and yellows, greens, blues and purples, neutral colors, and color wheel words), a 24-word starter list, 12 short words and every word of 8 letters or more. Spellings are American (Color, Gray). Facts were checked on 18 September 2026 in English Wikipedia, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ followed by ROYGBIV, Color_term, Orange_(colour), Pink, Purple, Magenta, Primary_color, Secondary_color, Complementary_colors, Tint,_shade_and_tone, Color_theory, Turquoise_(color), Khaki, Indigo, Mauve, Teal, Navy_blue, Fuchsia_(color), Crimson, Maroon, Sepia_(color), Ultramarine, Violet_(color), Taupe, Sienna, Cerulean, Beige, Vermilion, Chartreuse_(color), Azure_(color), Cyan, Grey, Periwinkle_(color) and Scarlet_(color). Licence: own work

How it works

Red, Turquoise and Magenta are among the 24 starter words of this color word search printable. For early readers, Basic Colors holds 13 words, and six more lists go as far as Vermilion, Chartreuse and the color wheel.

Read the full guide

Seven lists, from Red to Saturation

All seven sit under Start from a list. In 1969 the linguists Brent Berlin and Paul Kay counted 11 basic color terms in English, from Black and White to Pink and Gray. Basic Colors holds those, plus Indigo and Violet to complete the rainbow. Five lists by color family go deeper, to Vermilion, Chartreuse and Taupe. Color Wheel Words is the art room list.

Where the color names came from

Thirteen clues carry a date. The first record of orange as a color name in English is from 1502. Before that people said yellow-red. Purple goes back to a dye made from sea snails at Tyre, costly enough to mark royalty. William Perkin, aged 18, found mauve in 1856 while trying to make quinine.

With a Basic Colors sheet, hand out crayons and ask pupils to circle each word in its own color.

Questions and answers

Why is Lavender missing?

Spelled backwards, Lavender begins with Red, so a grid that held both would hide Red twice. Tan sits inside Tangerine and Aqua inside Aquamarine, so the shorter word of each pair was dropped. Add any color you miss at the end of the word list.

Which list suits kindergarten and first grade?

Basic Colors. The puzzle uses all 13 words every time, and on Easy they run only across and down. Long and Tricky is the other end: 39 words of 8 letters or more, such as Periwinkle and Butterscotch, which Hard hides in all eight directions.

Which list suits an art class?

Color Wheel Words, 25 entries, such as Primary, Secondary, Complement, Tint, Shade and Hue. With Show clues, not words ticked it is a color theory quiz: the line for Complement gives the pairs, green for red, purple for yellow, orange for blue.

Can I print it with grey and colour?

Yes. The lists use the American spellings Gray and Color. Grey is the usual spelling in British and Commonwealth English. In the list under the grid, retype Gray as Grey, then retype the title above the grid as Colour Word Search.

All 138 words

Basic Colors 13

Reds and Pinks 20

Oranges and Yellows 17

Greens 15

Blues and Purples 24

Neutral Colors 24

Color Wheel Words 25

How it works

Seven lists, from Red to Saturation

Where the color names came from

Questions and answers

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