blue
noun
the pure color of a clear sky; the primary color between green and violet in the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 450 and 500 nanometers.
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bluer.
blue
American
[bloo]
/ blu /
noun
-
blues
plural
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the pure color of a clear sky; the primary color between green and violet in the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 450 and 500 nanometers.
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something having a blue color.
Place the blue next to the red.
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a person who wears blue or is a member of a group characterized by some blue symbol.
Tomorrow the blues will play the browns.
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(often initial capital letter) a member of the Union army in the American Civil War or the army itself.
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any of several blue-winged butterflies of the family Lycaenidae.
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Printing. blueline.
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the blue,
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the sky.
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the sea.
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the remote distance.
They've vanished into the blue somewhere.
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adjective
bluer,
bluest
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of the color of blue.
a blue tie.
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(initial capital letter) of or relating to the Union army in the American Civil War.
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(of the skin) discolored by cold, contusion, fear, or vascular collapse.
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depressed in spirits; dejected; melancholy.
She felt blue about not being chosen for the team.
- Synonyms:
- downcast, glum, sad, dispirited, doleful, morose, unhappy, despondent
- Antonyms:
- happy
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holding or offering little hope; dismal; bleak.
a blue outlook.
- Synonyms:
- gloomy
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characterized by or stemming from rigid morals or religion.
statutes that were blue and unrealistic.
- Synonyms:
- strait-laced, puritanical, righteous
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marked by blasphemy.
The air was blue with oaths.
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(of an animal's pelage) grayish-blue.
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indecent; somewhat obscene; risqué.
a blue joke or film.
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Politics.
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relating to, supporting, or belonging to the Democratic Party in the United States; Democratic.
The county effectively turned blue, with all 38 district judges elected being Democrats.
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British. politically conservative.
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verb (used with object)
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blues,
present (3rd person singular)
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blued,
past participle, past
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bluing,
present participle
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blueing
present participle
-
to make blue; dye a blue color.
-
to tinge with bluing.
Don't blue your clothes till the second rinse.
verb (used without object)
-
blues,
present (3rd person singular)
-
blued,
past participle, past
-
bluing,
present participle
-
blueing
present participle
idioms
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out of the blue, suddenly and unexpectedly.
The inheritance came out of the blue as a stroke of good fortune.
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blue in the face, exhausted and speechless, as from excessive anger, physical strain, etc..
I reminded him about it till I was blue in the face.
blue
1
British
/ bluː /
noun
-
any of a group of colours, such as that of a clear unclouded sky, that have wavelengths in the range 490–445 nanometres. Blue is the complementary colour of yellow and with red and green forms a set of primary colours
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a dye or pigment of any of these colours
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blue cloth or clothing
dressed in blue
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a sportsperson who represents or has represented Oxford or Cambridge University and has the right to wear the university colour (dark blue for Oxford, light blue for Cambridge)
an Oxford blue
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the honour of so representing one's university
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an informal name for Tory
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any of numerous small blue-winged butterflies of the genera Lampides, Polyommatus , etc: family Lycaenidae
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archaic short for bluestocking
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slang a policeman
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archery a blue ring on a target, between the red and the black, scoring five points
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a blue ball in snooker, etc
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another name for blueing
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slang an argument or fight
he had a blue with a taxi driver
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Also: bluey. slang a court summons, esp for a traffic offence
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informal a mistake; error
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apparently from nowhere; unexpectedly
the opportunity came out of the blue
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into the unknown or the far distance
adjective
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of the colour blue
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(of the flesh) having a purple tinge, as from cold or contusion
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depressed, moody, or unhappy
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dismal or depressing
a blue day
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indecent, titillating, or pornographic
blue films
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bluish in colour or having parts or marks that are bluish
a blue fox
a blue whale
-
rare aristocratic; noble; patrician See blue blood
a blue family
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relating to, supporting, or representing the Democratic Party Compare red 1
verb
-
to make, dye, or become blue
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(tr) to treat (laundry) with blueing
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slang (tr) to spend extravagantly or wastefully; squander
Blue
2
British
/ bluː /
noun
blue
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bluesimple
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bluessimple
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have bluedperfect
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has bluedperfect
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am blueingprogressive
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am bluingprogressive
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are blueingprogressive
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are bluingprogressive
-
is blueingprogressive
-
is bluingprogressive
-
have been blueingperfect progressive
-
have been bluingperfect progressive
-
has been blueingperfect progressive
-
has been bluingperfect progressive
Past
-
bluedsimple
-
had bluedperfect
-
was blueingprogressive
-
was bluingprogressive
-
were blueingprogressive
-
were bluingprogressive
-
had been blueingperfect progressive
-
had been bluingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of blue
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English blewe, from Anglo-French blew, bl(i)u, bl(i)ef “blue, livid, discolored,” Old French blo, blau ( French bleu ), from unattested Germanic blǣwaz; compare Old English blǣwen, contraction of blǣhǣwen “deep blue, perse,” Old Frisian blāw, Middle Dutch blā(u), Old High German blāo ( German blau ), Old Norse blār
Explanation
Among other things, blue is a color and a dreary mood. If the blue sky and ocean have turned gray and stormy, you might be blue because your day at the beach is ruined. Whether it's a primary color or a saddened mood, blue is used often as an adjective for people and things. Blue is a mix of green and purple shades, and it's the favorite color of many. The color blue might bring thoughts of first-place blue ribbons or police officers in blue uniforms, and it colors many flags of the world. Blue is everywhere, but there isn't a lot of blue food unless it's colored with dye. Even blueberries are mostly purple.
Vocabulary lists containing blue
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:
The orange and blue colours on the lunar surface are caused by iron and titanium deposits and it was for that reason that the image was given its title.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
“Appalachian people don’t trust the government for a lot of reasons,” said Kim Roney, a progressive member of the blue Asheville city council.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
According to video footage of the chase obtained by the TV station, a blue Tesla could be seen speeding down the boardwalk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
As such, all eyes have been on Schwesig, a former national family minister whose motto has been the "Frau gegen Blau" -- the woman against blue, the AfD's signature colour.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
Others began peeking from the earth, dotting the soil in gray and pink and blue.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
“Now it’s time for our students to help set the standard. Arrive early. Be loud. Be relentless. We can’t wait to see a sea of Bruin Blue at the Rose Bowl this Saturday.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
She is also a model who married another model, Lucky Blue Smith, and regularly serves up a curated fantasy of ridiculous from-scratch culinary creations, all made for the love of Lucky and her four children.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
Screens and a lack of friendly workers has turned off customers such as Carolyn Blue, an attorney from Charleston, S.C., and lifelong McDonald’s fan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
"My work Lady In Blue will bring to Trafalgar Square a woman that many can relate to," the artist said.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
“What the Blue Blazes is he?” asked the stranger.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
"I was put me in the back of an ambulance and I remember hearing the blues and twos," he recalls.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Gone are the vivid blues and warm oranges and greens, crackling against film grain, that did so much heavy lifting for the first film’s leaden plot.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
She doesn’t imitate being the mother of the blues, as her character is known.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
To simplify her cooking routine, Jessica Furseth looked back at her childhood kitchen—and found a solution to the weeknight dinner blues.
From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026
For music that has been combining elements of both for long enough to have developed its own traditions, listen to any jazz, blues, gospel, Latin dance, or reggae.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
One entry describes begonia as “a deep pink that is bluer, lighter, and stronger than average coral . . . and bluer and stronger than sweet william—called also gaiety.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
Not everyone supports the flight to bluer skies.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 19, 2024
When the star moves toward a telescope, its visible light turns slightly bluer; when it moves away from us, the light shifts slightly redder.
From Science Daily ● May 23, 2024
In Oberlin, the day was supposed to start out cloudy, with bluer skies peeking through as the day went on and a front passed through.
From Slate ● Apr. 8, 2024
His hair had turned gray, his mustache nearly white, but his eyes were as blue as ever, bluer at this instant by proximity to the sea.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Once the bluest of blue-chip stocks, IBM’s biggest-ever decline on Tuesday following a profit warning did little to rattle investors focused on a dip in inflation and on AI winners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
His research is the bluest of blue-sky: he uses quantum computers to predict how sub-atomic particles behave.
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2026
Also on the letter was Ritchie Torres of New York’s 15th District, similarly one of the bluest districts in America; erstwhile Democratic presidential wannabe Dean Phillips of Minnesota; and California’s newest senator-to-be, Adam Schiff.
From Slate ● Apr. 30, 2024
As Perry Como sang, “The bluest skies you’ve ever seen in Seattle.”
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 7, 2023
I would fish where the water was deepest, strangest, bluest on clear days and blackest on the cloudy days.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
As we talked, the greens blued into ultramarine or yellowed into chartreuse.
From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2022
Facebook is the classic example of how the individual investor can get screwed, blued and tattooed.
From Forbes ● Sep. 1, 2012
Winchester Select Midnight The blued receiver carries extensive engraving, with gold-accented game birds on both sides and the bottom.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Tikka T3 Deluxe features a blued T3-barreled action in a high-grade walnut stock with classic three-point checkering, a rosewood forend tip and a grip cap with an antique silver-colored T3 medallion.
From Time Magazine Archive
After that we drove in silence as the sky blued and the few big clouds showed their low gray bellies.
From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos
Wash blue, or blueing, is a laundry product with iron powder and just a hint of blue dye.
From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2021
This circumstance has led Sociologists Peter and Brigitte Berger to suggest that if what Charles Reich calls "the greening of America" goes on apace, it may shade into a "blueing of America."
From Time Magazine Archive
The Glen Alden Coal Co. of Buffalo and Rochester, N. Y., has made the last wash a blueing process.
From Time Magazine Archive
This is the result of the use of blueing and soap, where the clothes have been imperfectly rinsed.
From Public School Domestic Science by Adelaide Hoodless
You know that you do not put much blueing into a washtub full of water.
From The Golden Censer The duties of to-day, the hopes of the future by John McGovern
The colour actually comes from a process that starts with boiling water and grinding laundry bluing cubes, which are usually used to wash white clothes.
From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2024
Although Castle made works with color, utilizing a variety of materials that include laundry bluing, watercolor, crayon and even colored ink leached from magazine pages, these are black soot-and-spit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2023
Some on Reddit fixed this by sanding theirs down to take the shine off of the finish, and another recommended using an acrylic topcoat and another chemical bluing.
From The Verge ● Mar. 9, 2022
When a congressional seat opened up in a bluing stretch of Phoenix’s eastern suburbs, Sinema ran and won.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 6, 2021
High above the library’s stained-glass windows and soaring neo-Gothic spires, screeching seagulls whirled in white loops against the slowly bluing sky.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
