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blue
[ bloo ]
noun
- the pure color of a clear sky; the primary color between green and violet in the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 450 and 500 nanometers.
- something having a blue color:
Place the blue next to the red.
- a person who wears blue or is a member of a group characterized by some blue symbol:
Tomorrow the blues will play the browns.
- (often initial capital letter) a member of the Union army in the American Civil War or the army itself. Compare gray 1( def 13 ).
- any of several blue-winged butterflies of the family Lycaenidae.
- Printing. blueline.
- the blue,
- the sky.
- the sea.
- the remote distance:
They've vanished into the blue somewhere.
adjective
- of the color of blue:
a blue tie.
- (initial capital letter) of or relating to the Union army in the American Civil War.
- (of the skin) discolored by cold, contusion, fear, or vascular collapse.
- depressed in spirits; dejected; melancholy:
She felt blue about not being chosen for the team.
Synonyms: downcast, glum, sad, dispirited, doleful, morose, unhappy, despondent
Antonyms: happy
a blue outlook.
Synonyms: gloomy
- characterized by or stemming from rigid morals or religion:
statutes that were blue and unrealistic.
Synonyms: strait-laced, puritanical, righteous
- marked by blasphemy:
The air was blue with oaths.
- (of an animal's pelage) grayish-blue.
- indecent; somewhat obscene; risqué:
a blue joke or film.
- Politics.
- relating to, supporting, or belonging to the Democratic Party in the United States; Democratic: Compare red 1( def 14 ).
The county effectively turned blue, with all 38 district judges elected being Democrats.
- British. politically conservative.
verb (used with object)
- to make blue; dye a blue color.
- to tinge with bluing:
Don't blue your clothes till the second rinse.
verb (used without object)
- to become or turn blue.
Blue
1/ bluː /
noun
- informal.a nickname for a person with red hair
blue
2/ bluː /
noun
- any of a group of colours, such as that of a clear unclouded sky, that have wavelengths in the range 490–445 nanometres. Blue is the complementary colour of yellow and with red and green forms a set of primary colours cyanic
- a dye or pigment of any of these colours
- blue cloth or clothing
dressed in blue
- a sportsperson who represents or has represented Oxford or Cambridge University and has the right to wear the university colour (dark blue for Oxford, light blue for Cambridge)
an Oxford blue
- the honour of so representing one's university
- an informal name for Tory
- any of numerous small blue-winged butterflies of the genera Lampides, Polyommatus , etc: family Lycaenidae
- archaic.short for bluestocking
- slang.a policeman
- archery a blue ring on a target, between the red and the black, scoring five points
- a blue ball in snooker, etc
- another name for blueing
- slang.an argument or fight
he had a blue with a taxi driver
- slang.Alsobluey a court summons, esp for a traffic offence
- informal.a mistake; error
- out of the blueapparently from nowhere; unexpectedly
the opportunity came out of the blue
- into the blueinto the unknown or the far distance
adjective
- of the colour blue
- (of the flesh) having a purple tinge, as from cold or contusion
- depressed, moody, or unhappy
- dismal or depressing
a blue day
- indecent, titillating, or pornographic
blue films
- bluish in colour or having parts or marks that are bluish
a blue fox
a blue whale
- rare.aristocratic; noble; patrician See blue blood
a blue family
- relating to, supporting, or representing the Democratic Party Compare red 1
verb
- to make, dye, or become blue
- tr to treat (laundry) with blueing
- slang.tr to spend extravagantly or wastefully; squander
Derived Forms
- ˈbluely, adverb
- ˈblueness, noun
Other Words From
- blue·ly adverb
- blue·ness noun
- half-blue adjective
- un·blued adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of blue1
Word History and Origins
Origin of blue1
Idioms and Phrases
- blue in the face, exhausted and speechless, as from excessive anger, physical strain, etc.:
I reminded him about it till I was blue in the face.
- out of the blue, suddenly and unexpectedly:
The inheritance came out of the blue as a stroke of good fortune.
More idioms and phrases containing blue
- between a rock and a hard place (devil and deep blue sea)
- black and blue
- bolt from the blue
- have the blues
- into thin air (the blue)
- like greased lightning (a blue streak)
- once in a blue moon
- out of a clear blue sky
- talk one's arm off (a blue streak
- until blue in the face)
Example Sentences
The spectra also showed the red dwarf’s glow was mixed with blue light.
When it comes to hanging the frames on the wall, she swears by a blue tape method by @lemonleafhomeinteriors that she viewed on TikTok.
The common food dyes — blue 1, blue 2, green 3, red 40, yellow 5 and yellow 6 — have been linked to developmental and behavioral harms in children, according to the California Environmental Protection Agency.
The landscape is vast and rugged, a mish-mash of rock, dirt and creosote bushes, swaths of gray and brown under a deep blue sky.
By 04:30, Yoon was back on TV, in front of the same blue curtains, saying he would withdraw martial law.
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Related Words
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.
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