amber

amber — noun

1. a hard see-through material, usually golden-brown, that comes from the sticky li

1.nounB2
Definition

a hard see-through material, usually golden-brown, that comes from the sticky liquid of trees that lived millions of years ago; it is often polished and made into beads, rings, and other jewellery.

Example

Marta wore a necklace of amber beads that her grandmother had brought from Lithuania.

noun + of amber for materials

Scientists found a tiny mosquito trapped inside a piece of amber from a Polish beach.

trapped inside / piece of amber

Common collocations
  • piece of amber
  • trapped in amber
  • preserved in amber
  • Baltic amber
  • amber bead
Synonyms
  • resin

    broader term; resin is the sticky liquid stage, amber is the hardened fossil form

  • copal

    younger, less hardened tree resin; not yet a true fossil

Usage Note

Almost always uncountable when referring to the material itself; use 'a piece of amber' to make it countable. Frequently appears with 'in', 'inside', or 'preserved in' when describing things trapped within it.

Common Mistakes

She bought two ambers at the market.
She bought two pieces of amber at the market.
amber as a material is uncountable; count the pieces, not the substance.

2. a warm shade between yellow and orange, similar to the colour of honey or a glas

2.nounB2
Definition

a warm shade between yellow and orange, similar to the colour of honey or a glass of dark beer.

Example

The setting sun turned the wheat fields a deep amber.

turn [thing] [colour]

The cat's eyes were the colour of amber, almost glowing in the firelight by the hearth.

the colour of amber as comparison

Common collocations
  • deep amber
  • rich amber
  • shade of amber
  • amber glow
  • warm amber
Synonyms
  • honey

    as a colour word, slightly lighter and softer than amber

  • ochre

    more earthy and matt; used especially of paint or clay

Usage Note

Often paired with intensifiers like 'deep', 'rich', 'warm', or 'pale' to specify the shade. Distinguish from sense 1 (the material): here, amber names the colour itself, not the substance.

3. the orange-yellow signal on a traffic light that comes on between green and red,

3.nounB2
Definition

the orange-yellow signal on a traffic light that comes on between green and red, telling drivers to slow down because the lights will soon change.

Example

The light turned amber, so Daniel braked gently before the crossing.

turn amber

In Britain, drivers must stop at the amber unless their car has already crossed the white line at the junction.

stop at the amber (British use)

Common collocations
  • turn amber
  • go amber
  • the lights are on amber
  • jump the amber
  • amber light
Synonyms
  • yellow

    the standard American word for the same traffic signal

Usage Note

Mainly British and Australian; American English usually says 'yellow' for the same signal. Often appears in the fixed pattern 'turn / go amber' and in 'jump the amber' (drive through as it changes).

Common Mistakes

The light turned to amber colour.
The light turned amber.
after 'turn' for traffic lights, use the colour word directly with no preposition.

amber — adjective

Word family

  • ambergris
    nounC2
  • ambery
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

All five words name shades in the warm yellow-to-brown family, but they suggest different sources and feelings. Amber is the most jewel-like: it carries a sense of glowing depth, perfect for whisky in a glass or eyes lit by candlelight. Honey is softer and creamier, often used for hair, skin tones, or pale tea. Ochre is earthy and matt — think clay walls or paint pigments — and rarely describes anything that shines. Tawny leans further toward brown and is the natural choice for animal coats (a tawny owl, a tawny lion) and for aged drinks like port. Gold is the brightest of the five, with a metallic shine that the others lack. So you might describe a sunset as gold at noon, amber as it deepens, and ochre once the colour fades against the hills.

amber ↗honey ↗ochretawnygold ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • a piece of amber
  • trapped in amber
  • preserved in amber
  • the lights are on amber
  • shades of amber

Prepositions

  • in amber
  • of amber
  • made of amber

Etymology

ArabicOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

English borrowed 'amber' from Old French 'ambre' in the late 1300s, which itself came from Arabic 'anbar'. Curiously, the Arabic word originally meant ambergris — a waxy substance from sperm whales used in perfume — not the fossil resin we mean today. In medieval Europe the two were often confused, and 'amber' eventually settled on the tree-resin meaning, while 'ambergris' (literally 'grey amber') kept the whale meaning. The colour sense, and later the traffic-light sense, grew naturally from the warm golden look of polished amber stones.