blue
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.
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blue
American
[bloo]
/ blu /
noun
-
blues
plural
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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.
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a person who wears blue or is a member of a group characterized by some blue symbol.
Tomorrow the blues will play the browns.
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(often initial capital letter) a member of the Union army in the American Civil War or the army itself.
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any of several blue-winged butterflies of the family Lycaenidae.
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Printing. blueline.
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the blue,
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the sky.
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the sea.
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the remote distance.
They've vanished into the blue somewhere.
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adjective
bluer,
bluest
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of the color of blue.
a blue tie.
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(initial capital letter) of or relating to the Union army in the American Civil War.
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(of the skin) discolored by cold, contusion, fear, or vascular collapse.
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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
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holding or offering little hope; dismal; bleak.
a blue outlook.
- Synonyms:
- gloomy
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characterized by or stemming from rigid morals or religion.
statutes that were blue and unrealistic.
- Synonyms:
- strait-laced, puritanical, righteous
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marked by blasphemy.
The air was blue with oaths.
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(of an animal's pelage) grayish-blue.
-
indecent; somewhat obscene; risqué.
a blue joke or film.
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Politics.
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relating to, supporting, or belonging to the Democratic Party in the United States; Democratic.
The county effectively turned blue, with all 38 district judges elected being Democrats.
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British. politically conservative.
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verb (used with object)
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blues,
present (3rd person singular)
-
blued,
past participle, past
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bluing,
present participle
-
blueing
present participle
-
to make blue; dye a blue color.
-
to tinge with bluing.
Don't blue your clothes till the second rinse.
verb (used without object)
-
blues,
present (3rd person singular)
-
blued,
past participle, past
-
bluing,
present participle
-
blueing
present participle
idioms
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out of the blue, suddenly and unexpectedly.
The inheritance came out of the blue as a stroke of good fortune.
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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.
blue
1
British
/ 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
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a dye or pigment of any of these colours
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blue cloth or clothing
dressed in blue
-
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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
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the honour of so representing one's university
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an informal name for Tory
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any of numerous small blue-winged butterflies of the genera Lampides, Polyommatus , etc: family Lycaenidae
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archaic short for bluestocking
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slang a policeman
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archery a blue ring on a target, between the red and the black, scoring five points
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a blue ball in snooker, etc
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another name for blueing
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slang an argument or fight
he had a blue with a taxi driver
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Also: bluey. slang a court summons, esp for a traffic offence
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informal a mistake; error
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apparently from nowhere; unexpectedly
the opportunity came out of the blue
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into the unknown or the far distance
adjective
-
of the colour blue
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(of the flesh) having a purple tinge, as from cold or contusion
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depressed, moody, or unhappy
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dismal or depressing
a blue day
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indecent, titillating, or pornographic
blue films
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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
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relating to, supporting, or representing the Democratic Party Compare red 1
verb
-
to make, dye, or become blue
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(tr) to treat (laundry) with blueing
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slang (tr) to spend extravagantly or wastefully; squander
Blue
2
British
/ bluː /
noun
blue
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bluesimple
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bluessimple
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have bluedperfect
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has bluedperfect
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am blueingprogressive
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am bluingprogressive
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are blueingprogressive
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are bluingprogressive
-
is blueingprogressive
-
is bluingprogressive
-
have been blueingperfect progressive
-
have been bluingperfect progressive
-
has been blueingperfect progressive
-
has been bluingperfect progressive
Past
-
bluedsimple
-
had bluedperfect
-
was blueingprogressive
-
was bluingprogressive
-
were blueingprogressive
-
were bluingprogressive
-
had been blueingperfect progressive
-
had been bluingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of blue
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English blewe, from Anglo-French blew, bl(i)u, bl(i)ef “blue, livid, discolored,” Old French blo, blau ( French bleu ), from unattested Germanic blǣwaz; compare Old English blǣwen, contraction of blǣhǣwen “deep blue, perse,” Old Frisian blāw, Middle Dutch blā(u), Old High German blāo ( German blau ), Old Norse blār
Explanation
Among other things, blue is a color and a dreary mood. If the blue sky and ocean have turned gray and stormy, you might be blue because your day at the beach is ruined. Whether it's a primary color or a saddened mood, blue is used often as an adjective for people and things. Blue is a mix of green and purple shades, and it's the favorite color of many. The color blue might bring thoughts of first-place blue ribbons or police officers in blue uniforms, and it colors many flags of the world. Blue is everywhere, but there isn't a lot of blue food unless it's colored with dye. Even blueberries are mostly purple.
Vocabulary lists containing blue
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Appalachian people don’t trust the government for a lot of reasons,” said Kim Roney, a progressive member of the blue Asheville city council.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
According to video footage of the chase obtained by the TV station, a blue Tesla could be seen speeding down the boardwalk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
As such, all eyes have been on Schwesig, a former national family minister whose motto has been the "Frau gegen Blau" -- the woman against blue, the AfD's signature colour.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
Selena Gomez, Dakota Fanning and Brett Goldstein were among the celebrities to pose for the camera on the blue version of the 78th Emmy Awards red carpet ahead of the ceremony in Los Angeles, California.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
“Wado,” said Ruth, handing Maggie a ribbon of blue raffle tickets.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Brian Wolfe, a standout pitcher at Servite who played three seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, has died at age 45, his wife shared Tuesday on Facebook.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
One of the main varieties is called Eureka Sunrise, a breed with large, sweet berries developed by Australian company Mountain Blue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
She is also a model who married another model, Lucky Blue Smith, and regularly serves up a curated fantasy of ridiculous from-scratch culinary creations, all made for the love of Lucky and her four children.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
Lady In Blue by New York artist Tschabalala Self, which pays homage to a young, metropolitan woman, is the 16th artwork to feature on the plinth since 1998.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
But after ten years of research, she stopped believing in the Cobalt Blue Orchids.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
"I was put me in the back of an ambulance and I remember hearing the blues and twos," he recalls.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Gone are the vivid blues and warm oranges and greens, crackling against film grain, that did so much heavy lifting for the first film’s leaden plot.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
Blue Note Records released her breakthrough solo LP, 1993’s “Blue Light ‘Til Dawn,” a mix of originals and covers of work by blues pioneer Robert Johnson and folk singers Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Throughout this year, the entire country seems to have been afflicted with the weather-app blues.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
A couple of weeks ago, under a pile of old sheet music and practice books, I found a yellowed book of boogie-woogie pieces, and old-time blues and rock.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
A few days after the initial flash, it brightened again, shifted to bluer light, and showed hydrogen in its spectra.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2026
One entry describes begonia as “a deep pink that is bluer, lighter, and stronger than average coral . . . and bluer and stronger than sweet william—called also gaiety.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
Firstly, they are two to three times as bright as traditional halogens, and their "colour temperature" is bluer and whiter, which mimics natural daylight.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026
Not everyone supports the flight to bluer skies.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 19, 2024
It’s bluer, bigger, more turbulent than I’d imagined.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
Once the bluest of blue-chip stocks, IBM’s biggest-ever decline on Tuesday following a profit warning did little to rattle investors focused on a dip in inflation and on AI winners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
His research is the bluest of blue-sky: he uses quantum computers to predict how sub-atomic particles behave.
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2026
Also on the letter was Ritchie Torres of New York’s 15th District, similarly one of the bluest districts in America; erstwhile Democratic presidential wannabe Dean Phillips of Minnesota; and California’s newest senator-to-be, Adam Schiff.
From Slate ● Apr. 30, 2024
She cries, "You swore that you loved me, but where were the clues? I died on the altar waiting for the proof. You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest day."
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2024
And he had the bluest eyes she’d ever seen, bluer even than Aaron’s.
From "The Devil's Arithmetic" by Jane Yolen
As we talked, the greens blued into ultramarine or yellowed into chartreuse.
From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2022
Facebook is the classic example of how the individual investor can get screwed, blued and tattooed.
From Forbes ● Sep. 1, 2012
Its blued receiver carries extensive engraving, with gold-accented game birds on both sides and the bottom.
From Time Magazine Archive
The afternoon air thickened and blued with gasoline fumes.
From Time Magazine Archive
She done out a tub of clothes on Monday, but she starched ’em afore they was wrenched, and blued a pink calico dress till I thought I should a died a laughin.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Wash blue, or blueing, is a laundry product with iron powder and just a hint of blue dye.
From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2021
The Glen Alden Coal Co. of Buffalo and Rochester, N. Y., has made the last wash a blueing process.
From Time Magazine Archive
This circumstance has led Sociologists Peter and Brigitte Berger to suggest that if what Charles Reich calls "the greening of America" goes on apace, it may shade into a "blueing of America."
From Time Magazine Archive
Do not put blueing into suds, as it makes specks in the flannel.
From A Treatise on Domestic Economy For the Use of Young Ladies at Home and at School by Catharine Esther Beecher
Blueing: Open out each piece and place one or two at a time in a tub of blueing water for just a moment; wring tightly, and shake out each piece.
From Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Household Management by Ontario. Ministry of Education
Anyone in area suffering symptoms such as breathlessness, wheezing, or bluing of lips and fingers is advised to contact the NHS 111 helpline.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2024
Although Castle made works with color, utilizing a variety of materials that include laundry bluing, watercolor, crayon and even colored ink leached from magazine pages, these are black soot-and-spit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2023
Some on Reddit fixed this by sanding theirs down to take the shine off of the finish, and another recommended using an acrylic topcoat and another chemical bluing.
From The Verge ● Mar. 9, 2022
When a congressional seat opened up in a bluing stretch of Phoenix’s eastern suburbs, Sinema ran and won.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 6, 2021
“But what a lot of work to boil the clothes in the large pots with the bluing powder.”
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
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.
