How to Use red ocher in a Sentence

red ocher

noun
Definition of red ochernext
  • At least one reason, Meacham said, was to prospect and mine red ocher.
    — Fox News, 7 July 2020
  • Its far wall bore a panel, painted with a red ocher pigment.
    — Michael Price, Science | AAAS, 11 Dec. 2019
  • One large wooden face is fierce with marks from the mineral pigment red ocher.
    — Lisa Demer, Alaska Dispatch News, 3 Sep. 2017
  • The mining tribe resembles the Himba of Namibia, known for their red ocher body paint and leather headpieces.
    — Melena Ryzik, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2018
  • The 23-year-old’s body was dusted with red ocher, a pigment used by many ancient cultures in burial ceremonies.
    — Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2020
  • He had been ceremoniously buried; his hands were folded over the pelvis and traces of red ocher enveloped him from cranium to loin.
    — David Maurice Smith, Smithsonian, 23 Aug. 2019
  • In all, divers identified more than 350 pits used for extracting red ocher, reports Bruce Bower for Science News.
    — Theresa MacHemer, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 July 2020
  • The Majoonsuo grave first drew the attention of researchers in 1992 in the municipality of Outokumpu when bright red ocher, a clay rich in iron, was spotted on the surface of a new service trail in the forest.
    — Ashley Strickland, CNN, 2 Nov. 2022
  • Some 7,000 years ago, a prehistoric human (or humans) added red ocher paintings to Los Machos, a natural rock shelter in southern Spain.
    — Theresa MacHemer, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Sep. 2020
  • A century or so later, during the Hell Gap occupation, Paleoindian people returned to the site and once again dug up red ocher.
    — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 May 2022
  • The team posits that someone applied a red ocher pigment around the injury, possibly for therapeutic or symbolic purposes.
    — Livia Gershon, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Mar. 2021
  • Communities including the Himba in Namibia continue to use red ocher as a bug repellant and sunscreen today; the pigment is also useful for tanning hides.
    — Theresa MacHemer, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 July 2020
  • Likely the oldest color in the spectrum, red ocher was the first pigment to be used in cave paintings, and its been associated with nobility, revolutionaries, prostitutes, and popes.
    — Rebecca Ramsey, The Cut, 31 Aug. 2017
  • Today Himba women in southern Africa cover their bodies in a mix of butterfat and red ocher, a culturally important tradition that also acts as sunscreen and bug repellent.
    — Theresa MacHemer, National Geographic, 8 Sep. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'red ocher.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: