color in

color in

To fill something with color, as of the outlines of pictures in coloring books. A noun or pronoun can be used between "color" and "in." My daughter loves art, so just give her crayons and a coloring book, and she'll color in the pictures all day long. I love drawing with pencil and ink, but I don't think it ever looks as good if I color it in.
See also: color
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

color something in

to paint or draw color on a pattern or outline. Here is a sketch. Please color it in. Color in the sketch, please.
See also: color
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

color in

v.
To cover completely the bounded surface of something with a color: The child colored in an outline of a tree with green crayon. We traced the stencil and colored it in.
See also: color
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • colored
  • coloring
  • coloured
  • color up
  • POC
  • change back
  • in (one's) opinion
  • in opinion
  • color
  • the carpets match the drapes
References in periodicals archive
Yet for young people of color in the U.S., "the war" is not something taking place an ocean away.
Would America fight for me? What does organizing against militarism mean for youth of color? Not simply protesting a distant war in another country, but challenging a war industry firmly rooted within their own communities
The disproportionate number of children of color in the child welfare system is clearly related to the shrinking safety net, expanding prisons and detention centers, and the privatization of key public functions.
Note from the publisher