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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

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

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

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

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

In two hours, Colorado was black and blue, unranked by the morning.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2023

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