lily-white

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

Of the Caucasian race; white.

Register: derogatory, slang

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

The film was shot on location in Notting Hill, but observers noticed how its streets were suspiciously free of black people, and instead “wholly populated with mindless, twittering, wittering, lily-white rich”, as writer China Miéville put it.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “lily-white” mean?

Of the Caucasian race; white.

Is “lily-white” formal or informal?

lily-white is generally derogatory, slang.