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• blue ribbon
  blue ribbon

  noun

  the highest award or distinction, as the first prize in a contest.
• blue-ribbon
  blue-ribbon

  adjective

  of superior quality or prominence; first-rate; specially selected.

blue ribbon

¹ American  

[bloo rib-uhn] / ˈblu ˈrɪb ən /

noun

1. the highest award or distinction, as the first prize in a contest.

   His entry at the state fair won a blue ribbon.

2. a blue ribbon worn as a badge of honor, especially by members of the Order of the Garter of the British knighthood.

3. (initial capital letters) Also Blue Ribband. (formerly) a prize awarded to an ocean liner making the fastest recorded trip across the Atlantic Ocean between Ambrose Lightship and Bishop Rock.

4. a badge used by some temperance organizations to indicate a pledge of abstinence from alcohol.

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blue-ribbon ² American  

[bloo-rib-uhn] / ˈbluˈrɪb ən /

adjective

1. of superior quality or prominence; first-rate; specially selected.

   a blue-ribbon committee of fund-raisers.

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blue ribbon British  

noun

1. (in Britain) a badge of blue silk worn by members of the Order of the Garter

2. a badge awarded as the first prize in a competition

3. a badge worn by a member of a temperance society

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Etymology

Origin of blue ribbon¹

First recorded in 1645–55

Origin of blue-ribbon²

First recorded in 1925–30; adj. use of blue ribbon

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blue ribbon blue-ribbon

In 2017, Clear Lake’s dire condition led the state to establish a blue ribbon commission, with tribal participation, focused on cleaning up the lake to bolster the local boating and fishing economy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Far from staging the blue ribbon Ulster senior finals it will now only be able to host lower ranking fixtures.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

In 2022, a blue ribbon commission recommended that county officials create their own homelessness agency and “streamline” LAHSA’s duties.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2025

"I went to the L.A. County Fair, and I won that blue ribbon," she remembers.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2024

“But I won a blue ribbon at the county fair for this strudel!”

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

When the song outgrows the blue-ribbon crowd, they’re flown to Los Angeles for one nationally televised performance before falling out in a bit of dressing room melodrama.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

Most of America’s most pressing policy problems have benefited from the ministrations of a blue-ribbon panel at some point.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

The Carnegie Foundation offered prestigious fellowships, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences convened a blue-ribbon commission.

From Slate ● May 1, 2026

Soon after his election, he replaced key officials at the troubled Vatican bank and appointed a blue-ribbon commission to advise him on overhauling the Curia, the Vatican administration.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2025

For the longest while she stared at the blue-ribbon winner, the oven-hot cherries simmering under the crisp lattice crust, and then she was overcome, and hugging Nancy, asked, “Honest, did I really make it myself?”

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

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