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• blue ribbon
  blue ribbon

  noun

  the highest award or distinction, as the first prize in a contest.
• blue-ribbon
  blue-ribbon

  adjective

  of superior quality or prominence; first-rate; specially selected.

blue ribbon

¹ American  

[bloo rib-uhn] / ˈblu ˈrɪb ən /

noun

1. the highest award or distinction, as the first prize in a contest.

   His entry at the state fair won a blue ribbon.

2. a blue ribbon worn as a badge of honor, especially by members of the Order of the Garter of the British knighthood.

3. (initial capital letters) Also Blue Ribband. (formerly) a prize awarded to an ocean liner making the fastest recorded trip across the Atlantic Ocean between Ambrose Lightship and Bishop Rock.

4. a badge used by some temperance organizations to indicate a pledge of abstinence from alcohol.

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blue-ribbon ² American  

[bloo-rib-uhn] / ˈbluˈrɪb ən /

adjective

1. of superior quality or prominence; first-rate; specially selected.

   a blue-ribbon committee of fund-raisers.

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blue ribbon British  

noun

1. (in Britain) a badge of blue silk worn by members of the Order of the Garter

2. a badge awarded as the first prize in a competition

3. a badge worn by a member of a temperance society

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Etymology

Origin of blue ribbon¹

First recorded in 1645–55

Origin of blue-ribbon²

First recorded in 1925–30; adj. use of blue ribbon

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blue ribbon blue-ribbon

Far from staging the blue ribbon Ulster senior finals it will now only be able to host lower ranking fixtures.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

"I went to the L.A. County Fair, and I won that blue ribbon," she remembers.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2024

Ten bakers from across the country compete for $100,000 and a spectacular blue ribbon; they include a Long Island farmer, a retired New Mexico pulmonologist and an Iowa mom who’s collected hundreds of blue ribbons.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2024

When Sandra Lee won a blue ribbon at the Los Angeles County Fair, her sister called to tell her the good news.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2024

Junior sounded as if he’d just won the blue ribbon at the county fair.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

“It’s a challenging space,” Brent Glass, who became director shortly after the blue-ribbon report in 2002, told ProPublica.

From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026

The Carnegie Foundation offered prestigious fellowships, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences convened a blue-ribbon commission.

From Slate ● May 1, 2026

A 2024 report by a blue-ribbon panel of defense experts makes for harrowing reading about our vulnerability in the next war.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

NAIRR’s road map comes from a 6-year, $2.6 billion plan for growing the nation’s academic AI research capacity that a blue-ribbon panel proposed in January 2023.

From Science Magazine ● May 8, 2024

Then we’d make fun of the blue-ribbon craft projects and dance a wild jitterbug to whatever lame-o band they’d brought in.

From "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by emily m. danforth