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definitions

blueshift

or blue shift

[ bloo-shift ]
/ ˈbluˌʃɪft /

noun Astronomy.

a shift toward shorter wavelengths of the spectral lines of a celestial object, caused by the motion of the object toward the observer.

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Nearby words

  1. blueprint,
  2. blueprinting,
  3. blues,
  4. blues-rock,
  5. blueschist,
  6. bluesman,
  7. bluesnarfing,
  8. bluest eye, the,
  9. bluestem,
  10. bluestocking

Origin of blueshift

First recorded in 1950–55; blue + shift
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for blue shift

blueshift

/ (ˈbluːˌʃɪft) /

noun

a shift in the spectral lines of a stellar spectrum towards the blue end of the visible region relative to the wavelengths of these lines in the terrestrial spectrum: a result of the Doppler effect caused by stars approaching the solar systemCompare redshift
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Science definitions for blue shift

blue shift

See under Doppler effect.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.