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• 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.

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black-and-blue British  

adjective

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

2. feeling pain or soreness, as from a beating

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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.

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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

Cal Fire crews used a rope system to retrieve the body of the swimmer, clad in a black-and-blue wetsuit, from a remote stretch of beach south of Davenport, according to officials.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2025

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

He rolled up to the tent outside the harborside hotel in a black-and-blue Bugatti Chiron, and he briefly delayed his first interview session to answer texts from his wife.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2022

But against the league’s most high-powered offense, its defense stepped up to deliver a black-and-blue 19-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys that should recharge Kansas City’s Super Bowl expectations.

From New York Times ● Nov. 21, 2021

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

Inter said, external he has "gone through experiences and challenges of enormous importance, events that have shaped him as a man and a professional, binding him inextricably to the black and blue colours".

From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2025

First, they featured the team colors — so the Eagles would be in green — then last season’s stats were in red, this season’s stats were in black, and blue for career stats.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2025

A pile of T-shirts that read “Zioness AF,” available in black and blue, sat unattended on a long table out front.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2024

I look down at them, as if they were utterly black and blue as a Oaxaca storm—and tender as new corn.

From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads

Related Words

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