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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.
Synonyms

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

"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
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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

Green-winged Inca jays, with yellow bellies and black-and-blue faces, fluttered and squawked in nearby branches, and a dazzling array of hummingbirds purred and thumped, jostling for space at assorted feeders.

From New York Times • Apr. 26, 2023

The Valentino gown was fine on its own, but it clashed with everything else: the plenteous flags, the carpeting, the black-and-blue palette established by her family members.

From Slate • Feb. 2, 2021

After two hours, she had a black-and-blue thumb and a pile of coconut for lunch.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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