blond

American  

[blond] / blɒnd /

adjective

blonder, blondest

1. (of hair, skin, etc.) light-colored.

   the child's soft blond curls.

2. (of a person) having light-colored hair and skin.

3. (of furniture wood) light in tone.

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noun

1. a blond person.

2. silk lace, originally unbleached but now often dyed any of various colors, especially white or black.

blond British  

/ blɒnd /

adjective

1. (of men's hair) of a light colour; fair

2. (of a person, people or a race) having fair hair, a light complexion, and, typically, blue or grey eyes

3. (of soft furnishings, wood, etc) light in colour

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noun

1. a person, esp a man, having light-coloured hair and skin

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

Derived 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” ( see flavo-)

Explanation

Blond isn't just a word used to describe pale yellow hair, it can also be used to describe a person with such hair. We'll leave it to you to decide whether or not blonds have more fun. There's all kinds of blonds out there from bleached to platinum to strawberry to sandy. Some people, Brits especially, will add an e to the end of blonde depending on what gender they are talking about, so that a woman is blonde while a man is blond. The addition of the "e" in the feminine form of blonde is of course a holdover from its French origin. Not only fair-haired people are described as blond; you might have seen blond wood used in Scandinavian furniture. Ikea, anyone?

Example Sentences

Blond, light-featured and tall, he is visually distinct from the three other children and his silent rebellion permeates the atmosphere.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

"She's gone from being very pointy and childlike in drawing to very filmic," says Shelley Blond, the actress who voiced the original Lara.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2024

“I was really excited for the blond era — like, Blond Billie is gonna be so cool. But it did not go how I wanted it to go.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2023

And the idea of falling in and out of love,” David Blond said before the show.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 15, 2023

Blond hair ... and a scar running along the left side of his face.

From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• bleached
• blonde
• golden