blue blood
Americannoun
-
an aristocrat, noble, or member of a socially prominent family.
-
aristocratic, noble, or socially prominent lineage or relatives.
They boasted a lineage of pure blue blood.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of blue blood
1825–35; translation of Spanish sangre azul. See sanguine, azure
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.
If there was any solace for the Fighting Irish on Saturday night, it’s that they weren’t the only college football blue blood to turn into the shocking victims of underdogs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
It was Brown, a Rhode Island blue blood whose name now adorns an Ivy League university, who in 1790 financed Slater’s stolen ideas for a state-of-the-art cotton mill.
From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026
No blue blood wants to fake excitement about schlepping to the Pop-Tart Bowl, no offense to those sentient Pop-Tarts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2025
A blue blood, as far as Bilas is concerned, combines sustained high-level success with a tradition of championships.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2024
Fortune had denied her the grand air which goes with blue blood and coronets, but she was resolved to make up for the want of it by a display of external magnificence.
From My Lords of Strogue Vol. III, (of III) A Chronicle of Ireland, from the Convention to the Union by Lewis Wingfield
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
