blond
Americanadjective
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(of hair, skin, etc.) light-colored.
the child's soft blond curls.
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(of a person) having light-colored hair and skin.
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(of furniture wood) light in tone.
noun
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a blond person.
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silk lace, originally unbleached but now often dyed any of various colors, especially white or black.
adjective
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(of men's hair) of a light colour; fair
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(of a person, people or a race) having fair hair, a light complexion, and, typically, blue or grey eyes
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(of soft furnishings, wood, etc) light in colour
noun
Spelling
See blonde.
Usage
What’s the difference between blond and blonde? Blond and blonde are both adjectives most commonly used to describe the color of light or yellowish hair or someone who has such hair. They can also both be used as nouns referring to a person with such hair, as in Should I make this character a blond or a redhead? They are pronounced exactly the same. But there is a difference: the spelling blonde is typically used in a gender-specific way to refer to or describe women and girls with this hair color. In contrast, the use of blond in a gender-neutral way is very common. And when the word is used as an adjective, this spelling is much more commonly used, regardless of the gender of the person whose hair color is being described.Blond and blonde derive from French, which has grammatical gender, meaning that some words end differently depending on whether they are applied to men or women (with e being the feminine ending). This happens in a few other pairs of words in English, like confidant and confidante, though in many cases the term without the e has become largely gender-neutral. This is the case with blond, which is the more commonly used of the two.When describing the colors of things other than hair, such as wood or coffee, only the spelling blond is used.When in doubt, remember that the spelling blond is appropriate in all cases.Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between blond and blonde.
Other Word Forms
- blondish adjective
- blondness noun
Etymology
Origin of blond
First recorded in 1475–85; from Middle French blonde “blond, light brown,” feminine of blond, from Germanic; akin to Old English blondenfeax “gray-haired,” Latin flāvus “yellow” ( flavo- )
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.
The Greeley’s third son, blond and blue-eyed Pickie, was special to both his parents.
From Literature
Jacks has been given the nickname of Slim Shady by some England players during this tournament – a reference to his pre-tournament haircut and bleached blond hair.
From BBC
He shoved his hands through his curly blond hair—maybe trying to wipe away sweat, maybe trying to restore some order to the mess.
From Literature
It was malleable and oblong, perfectly complemented by a waft of boy-next-door blond locks and a brow that could convey emotion just as well as any histrionic soap dialogue.
From Salon
She scratched her head, sending her blond wig askew, revealing the sparse gray spiderwebs underneath.
From Literature
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.
