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black-and-blue

[blak-uh n-bloo]
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adjective
  1. discolored, as by bruising; exhibiting ecchymosis: a black-and-blue mark on my knee.
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Origin of black-and-blue

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

painbruisesufferingdiscomfortoutrageacheharmdistressscratchdownpangdisasterblowmisfortuneruinwoundmarknickgashmischief
British Dictionary definitions for black and blue

black-and-blue

adjective
  1. (of the skin) discoloured, as from a bruise
  2. feeling pain or soreness, as from a beating
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with 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.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.