Jump To:

• black-and-blue
  black-and-blue

  adjective

  discolored, as by bruising; exhibiting ecchymosis.
• black and blue
  black and blue

  Badly bruised, as in That fall down the stairs left me black and blue all over. Even though multicolored bruises rarely include the color black, this term has been so used since about 1300.

black-and-blue

American  

[blak-uhn-bloo] / ˈblæk ənˈblu /

adjective

1. discolored, as by bruising; exhibiting ecchymosis.

   a black-and-blue mark on my knee.

---

black-and-blue British  

adjective

1. (of the skin) discoloured, as from a bruise

2. feeling pain or soreness, as from a beating

---

black and blue Idioms  

1. Badly bruised, as in That fall down the stairs left me black and blue all over. Even though multicolored bruises rarely include the color black, this term has been so used since about 1300.

---

Etymology

Origin of black-and-blue

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

black-and-blue black and blue

The singer re-emerged wearing a sparkly black-and-blue outfit complete with roller skates as he introduced will.i.am for their collaboration OMG - a song title which reflected the crowd's reaction.

From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2024

Back at T-Mobile Park on Monday afternoon, Moore lifted up his shirt to reveal the oversized black-and-blue welt under his left shoulder blade on Monday afternoon.

From Seattle Times ● May 22, 2023

Again, the black-and-blue color pairing is not the most pleasing to the eye, but actress Rose gets extra points here for matching her edgy hairstyle to her rainbow platform Crocs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2020

Revel’s black-and-blue mopeds have the acceleration of a motorcycle, the nimbleness of a bicycle, and, on New York streets where the speed limit is 25 mph, the legal top speed of a car.

From Slate ● Aug. 29, 2019

A nasty black-and-blue swelled along his right cheek.

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older

Dozens of the black and blue pillars have been sprayed since they began sprouting earlier this year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Fresh from promoting her new single Crush with AJ Tracey, Jorja Smith was on the red carpet in leather-look black and blue dress.

From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2025

So my prediction was that night owls would tend to see the dress as black and blue, whereas early risers would have a tendency to see it as white and gold.

From Slate ● Feb. 26, 2025

The black and blue patch will read “Fernando,” with his No. 34 below.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2024

The mountainside was streaked with sparkling black and blue lines, like the veins of some giant we little insects were inching across.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

Related Words

• ache
• bruise
• discomfort
• outrage
• pain
• suffering