blue blood

American  

[bloo bluhd, bloo bluhd] / ˈblu ˌblʌd, ˈblu ˈblʌd /

noun

1. an aristocrat, noble, or member of a socially prominent family.

2. aristocratic, noble, or socially prominent lineage or relatives.

   They boasted a lineage of pure blue blood.

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blue blood British  

noun

1. royal or aristocratic descent

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Other Word Forms

• blue-blooded adjective

Etymology

Origin of blue blood

1825–35; translation of Spanish sangre azul. See sanguine, azure

Example Sentences

It was Brown, a Rhode Island blue blood whose name now adorns an Ivy League university, who in 1790 financed Slater’s stolen ideas for a state-of-the-art cotton mill.

From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026

Long before Cignetti was laying waste to college football’s blue blood programs, his head coaching journey began in 2011 when he was hired by a once-proud Division II program called Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 13, 2026

He also came from Belgium by way of UC Santa Barbara—a far cry from a college hoops blue blood.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 26, 2025

Bilas said he considered Michigan State, which won titles in 1979 and 2000 and has made eight additional Final Four appearances, a blue blood but understood not everyone agreed — including Spartans coach Tom Izzo.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 19, 2024

It was long ago thought that blue blood was a trait peculiar to persons of princely and royal descent, and boastful allusions to the "sang azure" of kings and nobles are quite often met with.

From A Treatise on Physiology and Hygiene For Educational Institutions and General Readers by Hutchison, Joseph Chrisman