red
noun
any of various colors resembling the color of blood; the primary color at one extreme end of the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 610 and 780 nanometers.
red
1 American
[red]
/ rɛd /
noun
-
reds
plural
-
any of various colors resembling the color of blood; the primary color at one extreme end of the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 610 and 780 nanometers.
-
something red.
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Older Slang: Usually Disparaging. Often Red a radical leftist in politics, especially a Communist.
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Informal. red light.
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Informal. red wine.
a glass of red.
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Also called red devil. Also called red bird,. Also called red doll. Slang. a capsule of the drug secobarbital, usually red in color.
He was caught with a half dozen reds in the bottom of his pack of cigarettes.
adjective
-
redder,
comparative
-
reddest
superlative
-
of the color red; of or like the color of blood.
a red rose.
-
reddish purple in color.
red wine made from purple grapes.
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orange, golden brown, or reddish brown in color.
red hair.
-
having distinctive areas or markings of red.
a red robin.
-
red eyes from allergies.
-
(of the face) flushed or blushing, as from shame.
cheeks red with embarrassment.
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of or indicating a state of financial loss or indebtedness.
the red column in the ledger.
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Politics. relating to, supporting, or belonging to the Republican Party in the United States; Republican.
This is big news in that it flips a red Senate seat to blue.
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Older Slang: Usually Disparaging.
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radically left politically.
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Often Red communist.
Red China.
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Older Use: Disparaging and Offensive. relating to, noting, or characteristic of North American Indian peoples.
idioms
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see red, to become very angry; become enraged.
Snobs make her see red.
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paint the town red. paint.
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in the red, operating at a loss or being in debt (opposed to in the black).
The newspaper strike put many businesses in the red.
red
2
American
[red]
/ rɛd /
verb (used with object)
red,
redding
Red
3
American
[red]
/ rɛd /
noun
-
a male or female given name.
-
a nickname typically given to someone with red hair.
red-
4
American
-red
5
American
red
1
British
/ rɛd /
noun
-
any of a group of colours, such as that of a ripe tomato or fresh blood, that lie at one end of the visible spectrum, next to orange, and are perceived by the eye when light in the approximate wavelength range 740–620 nanometres falls on the retina. Red is the complementary colour of cyan and forms a set of primary colours with blue and green
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a pigment or dye of or producing these colours
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red cloth or clothing
dressed in red
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a red ball in snooker, billiards, etc
-
(in roulette and other gambling games) one of two colours on which players may place even bets, the other being black
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Also called: inner. archery a red ring on a target, between the blue and the gold, scoring seven points
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informal in debit; owing money
-
informal to become very angry
adjective
-
of the colour red
-
reddish in colour or having parts or marks that are reddish
red hair
red deer
-
having the face temporarily suffused with blood, being a sign of anger, shame, etc
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(of the complexion) rosy; florid
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(of the eyes) bloodshot
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(of the hands) stained with blood, as after committing murder
-
bloody or violent
red revolution
-
(of wine) made from black grapes and coloured by their skins
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denoting the highest degree of urgency in an emergency; used by the police and the army and informally (esp in the phrase red alert )
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relating to, supporting, or representing the Republican Party Compare blue
verb
Red
2
British
/ rɛd /
adjective
-
Communist, Socialist, or Soviet
-
radical, leftist, or revolutionary
noun
-
a member or supporter of a Communist or Socialist Party or a national of a state having such a government, esp the former Soviet Union
-
a radical, leftist, or revolutionary
red
3
British
/ rɛd /
verb
red
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of red1
First recorded before 900; Middle English red, Old English rēad; cognate with German rot, Dutch rood, Old Norse raudhr, Latin rūfus, ruber, Greek erythrós; see rubella, rufescent, erythro-
Origin of -red5
Middle English -rede, Old English -rǣden
Explanation
The color red is a primary hue found at the end of the spectrum. You might turn red with embarrassment. It also represents financial loss, as in the term "red ink." The word red goes back to before 900, and we can see its roots in the Old English rēad. The idea of red as a signal to stop came in 1849. The color has been associated with rebellion as far back as the 13th Century, and in 1917, the Russian Bolsheviks adopted the color as their symbol. When the movement became the political party of Communism, the members became known as "Reds."
Vocabulary lists containing red
Red
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Spelling Practice 1, Unit 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Her packed cell volume — which measures the percentage of red blood cells in the bloodstream — fell below 10%, the center said in an Instagram post.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Its current incarnation is a student in a big red bear costume performing at sporting games.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
This team's efforts have seen them scratched off the international red list of threatened species - a rare glimmer of hope in a country facing an extinction emergency.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
So did their stock of items purchased over the years: coffee makers, games, camping equipment, banners to welcome the children on the first day of camp, along with a red carpet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Whether you're a brain surgeon or a sixth-grader, the first time you see the Brainvox image of Phineas's head with that red bar through it, you wince.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Jaissle's previous experience of developing young players at Red Bull Salzburg will therefore be vital.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
On TV, actors Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds’ excursion into the wild world of British Premier football, “Welcome to Wrexham,” recently expanded to include a women’s team, the Red Dragons.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
More provocative explorations of ballet included “The Red Shoes.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Military spokesman Yahya Saree said missiles hit the tanker Wafa off Yanbu in the northern Red Sea and the tanker Daisy in the Gulf of Aden.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
Even though Red never made fun of me, she still made me nervous.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
As Mr. Haskell kept watching, a flock of rainbow lorikeets, in their blue-, red-, orange- and green-feathered glory, blew in, “like windblown confetti,” chasing off the figbirds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
The city will prioritize homes for the buyout of the eight homes that have been red- or yellow-tagged — officially deemed unsafe to enter or unlivable, respectively.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2024
Managing editor Andrew Gulli found the Capote story in the Library of Congress, inside an “old red- and gold-scrolled Florentine notebook,” he writes on the Strand editorial page.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2023
Then the Grulla students ran onto the stage to join their friends, and red- and blue-clad mariachis embraced each other joyously.
From New York Times ● Nov. 3, 2022
We sat down at a table covered with a cheery red- checkered tablecloth in a cold, abstract arrangement of squares—the kind of pattern the demons favored.
From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
Veterans proudly wore the distinctive berets of their old regiments -red for the Colonials recruited overseas, blue for paratroopers of Metropolitan France, green for Foreign Legionnaires.
From Time Magazine Archive
A full-page illustration from a 13th-century manuscript is resplendent with lovely reds, greens and blues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
A Bordeaux-style blend that embodies Black Ankle’s strength: elegant and ageable reds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
A few months ago at the Pasadena City College Swap Meet, Whitley watched Saar pass stall after stall, ignoring all the wrong blues and reds, until something suddenly caught her attention.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
She adds that it is specifically younger drinkers asking for chilled reds.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
It’s filled with different-colored inks, reds and blues and blacks, and a couple of sparkly fluorescent colors from a gel pen kit I got back in sixth grade.
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
As a galaxy moves away, its light is stretched toward redder wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026
As Arizona yielded to New Mexico, the dirt seemed to get redder and the ridges rose to form buttes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025
And with higher sugar concentrations, a pigment called anthocyanin is produced, making the leaves even redder.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2025
The closer the moon is to the Earth during an eclipse, the redder it looks, making it a super blood moon.
From Slate ● Apr. 5, 2024
Aunt Loma’s face suddenly went redder than ever.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
It’s an oasis for arts, tasteful wealth, and Southern manners in one of the reddest parts of the country.
From Slate ● May 4, 2026
For followers of medical disinformation, the claim that autism is linked to childhood vaccinations is the reddest of red flags.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025
After his first few days on set, he returned to his dressing room to find an enormous bouquet of, as he put it, “the biggest and reddest roses I’ve seen in my life.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 6, 2024
The research team looked for the reddest stars, and found 1,001 pinpoint sources of light, most of them young stars still embedded in their dusty cocoons.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2023
After a while, I noticed that as I was busy picking the capulfs, Matilde was choosing the ripest, reddest, biggest ones from the pile and popping them into her mouth.
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
As Iran's young Shah came to power 20,000 Russian troops were camped outside Teheran, redding up their tanks for a triumphal entry into the city.
From Time Magazine Archive
Mrs. Truman was redding up her rambling, 80-year-old home at 219 North Delaware St. in Independence.
From Time Magazine Archive
You should have seen the idlers aft and the boys forrard, redding up as if all their mothers was expected.
From A Man in the Open by Pocock, Roger
That is what she did, and furthermore she left the room guiltily, muttering something about redding up the drawers.
From Margaret Ogilvy by Barrie, J. M. (James Matthew)
Said I not to ye, Make not, meddle not?—Beware of the redding straik!
From Guy Mannering by Scott, Walter, Sir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
