color bar
noun
variants US color bar or British colour bar
plural color bars
: a set of societal or legal barriers that segregates people of color from white people (as by restricting social interaction or requiring separate facilities) and prevents people of color from exercising the same rights and accessing the same opportunities as white people : color line
—usually used with the
"Rosetta [LeNoire] did more than dream of a theater with no color bar—she actually built one," he [Bill Clinton] said.—
Douglas Martin
Douglas Martin
In London, the department funded two student hostels, which aided the many students whom the color bar prevented from finding decent lodging …—Aminatta Forna
Aminatta Forna
As a minor leaguer, he was one of five players who broke the color bar in the South Atlantic League.—The (Mankato, Minnesota) Free Press
The (Mankato, Minnesota) Free Press
Examples of color bar in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The brand offers its at-home hair color offerings on Amazon, direct-to-consumer, and in more than 3,800 doors including Walmart, Ulta Beauty, Target, Sally Beauty and its own color bars. —Noor Lobad, Footwear News, 28 Oct. 2025 The tablescape—bright with placemats and menus inspired by vintage TV color bars—paid homage to the aesthetics of broadcast history, highlighting themes around Black life, consumerism, and media representation, all central to Adams’ practice. —Skylar Mitchell, Essence, 5 Aug. 2025 In 1814, Congress prevented the use of soldiers—all white because of the color bar—from serving as officers’ servants. —Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 29 Mar. 2025 That was down from 7.2% in 2022 and was the lowest percentage since 1955, eight years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color bar in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. —Darrell Smith, Sacramento Bee, 5 Apr. 2024 Communications were lost with the drone as the image can be seen pixelating into color bars. —Luis Martinez, ABC News, 16 Mar. 2023 Massingale said his father couldn’t work as a carpenter because of a color bar preventing African Americans from joining the carpenters’ union. —NBC News, 14 Feb. 2022 Lighter blue indicates less snow, deeper blue is more snow (see color bar at left). —Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 22 Apr. 2017
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noor Lobad, Footwear News, 28 Oct. 2025 The tablescape—bright with placemats and menus inspired by vintage TV color bars—paid homage to the aesthetics of broadcast history, highlighting themes around Black life, consumerism, and media representation, all central to Adams’ practice. —Skylar Mitchell, Essence, 5 Aug. 2025 In 1814, Congress prevented the use of soldiers—all white because of the color bar—from serving as officers’ servants. —Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 29 Mar. 2025 That was down from 7.2% in 2022 and was the lowest percentage since 1955, eight years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color bar in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. —Darrell Smith, Sacramento Bee, 5 Apr. 2024 Communications were lost with the drone as the image can be seen pixelating into color bars. —Luis Martinez, ABC News, 16 Mar. 2023 Massingale said his father couldn’t work as a carpenter because of a color bar preventing African Americans from joining the carpenters’ union. —NBC News, 14 Feb. 2022 Lighter blue indicates less snow, deeper blue is more snow (see color bar at left). —Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 22 Apr. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Color bar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/dictionary/color%20bar. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.
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