Color Box \colorbox

When to use Color Box

Adds a colored background behind content. In source, start from the exact \colorbox command instead of imitating the rendered glyph with Unicode characters or manual spacing. This keeps the expression editable and gives the renderer enough structure to apply mathematical spacing correctly.

Syntax

\colorbox

The documented syntax belongs to xcolor. Keep every required argument, brace pair, and environment boundary intact when moving the command between an editor, Markdown processor, notebook, or publishing system.

Example

\colorbox{yellow}{$x$}

Rendered output

highlighted x

Copy and compatibility checks

• Copy \colorbox exactly; changing its case or removing a leading backslash can turn it into plain text.
• Confirm that the destination loads xcolor before relying on this command.
• Render the example once, then inspect grouping, limits, scripts, and spacing before publishing.