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• blues
  blues

  noun

  the blues, depressed spirits; despondency; melancholy.
• Blues
  Blues

  plural noun

  the Royal Horse Guards

blues

¹ American  

[blooz] / bluz /

noun

1. (used with a plural verb) the blues, depressed spirits; despondency; melancholy.

   This rainy spell is giving me the blues.

2. (used with a singular verb)

   1. a song, originating with African Americans, that is marked by the frequent occurrence of blue notes, and that takes the basic form, customarily improvised upon in performance, of a 12-bar chorus consisting of a 3-line stanza with the second line repeating the first.

   2. the genre constituting such songs.

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blues ² American  

[blooz] / bluz /

noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. any of various blue military uniforms worn by members of the U.S. armed services.

   dress blues.

2. a blue uniform for work; blue work clothes.

   a doctor in surgical blues.

3. Informal. police.

   The blues keep this neighborhood safe.

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Blues ¹ British  

/ bluːz /

plural noun

1. the Royal Horse Guards

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blues ² British  

/ bluːz /

plural noun

1. a feeling of depression or deep unhappiness

2. a type of folk song devised by Black Americans at the beginning of the 20th century, usually employing a basic 12-bar chorus, the tonic, subdominant, and dominant chords, frequent minor intervals, and blue notes

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blues Cultural  

1. A kind of jazz that evolved from the music of African-Americans, especially work songs and spirituals (see also spirituals), in the early twentieth century. Blues pieces often express worry or depression.

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blues Idioms  

1. see have the blues.

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Other Word Forms

• bluesy
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of blues¹

First recorded in 1740–50; cf. blue (in the sense “depressed in spirits; dejected; melancholy”)

Origin of blues²

see origin at blue, -s ³

Explanation

If you've got the blues, you probably want to lie in bed and cry — or get out your guitar and sadly sing the blues. Since the fourteenth century, the word blue has been used to mean "sad." The noun blues came into use in the 1700s to describe a state of sadness or melancholy. Around a hundred years later, a Black American musical genre adopted the word to describe its particular twelve-bar chord progression and folksy sound. Lyrics in blues music often describe hard times, struggles, and a particular kind of melancholy mood.

Example Sentences

After graduating, he whistled at blues clubs and eventually started competing.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026

From the outset, the festival embraced musical diversity: big band, swing, ska, blues, Dixieland and bebop.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

He claimed to have been inspired by blues legend Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, who he said was a fellow inmate at one point.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

By early 1963, the Station Hotel in London had become an epicenter of the burgeoning British blues scene.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026

The water was a beautiful turquoise, a color it took Ivy at least thirty minutes to get right, mixing the blues and greens until it was perfect.

From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake