blues

¹

[blooz]

noun

1. (used with a plural verb),  the blues, depressed spirits; despondency; melancholy.

   This rainy spell is giving me the blues.

2. (used with a singular verb)

   1. a song, originating with African Americans, that is marked by the frequent occurrence of blue notes, and that takes the basic form, customarily improvised upon in performance, of a 12-bar chorus consisting of a 3-line stanza with the second line repeating the first.

   2. the genre constituting such songs.

blues

²

[blooz]

noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. any of various blue military uniforms worn by members of the U.S. armed services.

   dress blues.

2. a blue uniform for work; blue work clothes.

   a doctor in surgical blues.

3. Informal.,  police.

   The blues keep this neighborhood safe.

blues

¹

/ bluːz /

plural noun

1. a feeling of depression or deep unhappiness

2. a type of folk song devised by Black Americans at the beginning of the 20th century, usually employing a basic 12-bar chorus, the tonic, subdominant, and dominant chords, frequent minor intervals, and blue notes

Blues

²

/ bluːz /

plural noun

1. the Royal Horse Guards

blues

1. A kind of jazz that evolved from the music of African-Americans, especially work songs and spirituals (see also spirituals), in the early twentieth century. Blues pieces often express worry or depression.

Other Word Forms

• bluesy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of blues¹

First recorded in 1740–50; blue (in the sense “depressed in spirits; dejected; melancholy”)

Origin of blues²

blue, -s ³

Idioms and Phrases

see have the blues.