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.
blue
American
[bloo]
/ blu /
noun
-
blues
plural
-
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.
-
a person who wears blue or is a member of a group characterized by some blue symbol.
Tomorrow the blues will play the browns.
-
(often initial capital letter) a member of the Union army in the American Civil War or the army itself.
-
any of several blue-winged butterflies of the family Lycaenidae.
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Printing. blueline.
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the blue,
-
the sky.
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the sea.
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the remote distance.
They've vanished into the blue somewhere.
-
adjective
bluer,
bluest
-
of the color of blue.
a blue tie.
-
(initial capital letter) of or relating to the Union army in the American Civil War.
-
(of the skin) discolored by cold, contusion, fear, or vascular collapse.
-
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
-
holding or offering little hope; dismal; bleak.
a blue outlook.
- Synonyms:
- gloomy
-
characterized by or stemming from rigid morals or religion.
statutes that were blue and unrealistic.
- Synonyms:
- strait-laced, puritanical, righteous
-
marked by blasphemy.
The air was blue with oaths.
-
(of an animal's pelage) grayish-blue.
-
indecent; somewhat obscene; risqué.
a blue joke or film.
-
Politics.
-
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.
-
British. politically conservative.
-
verb (used with object)
-
blues,
present (3rd person singular)
-
blued,
past participle, past
-
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
-
out of the blue, suddenly and unexpectedly.
The inheritance came out of the blue as a stroke of good fortune.
-
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
-
a dye or pigment of any of these colours
-
blue cloth or clothing
dressed in blue
-
-
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
-
the honour of so representing one's university
-
-
an informal name for Tory
-
any of numerous small blue-winged butterflies of the genera Lampides, Polyommatus , etc: family Lycaenidae
-
archaic short for bluestocking
-
slang a policeman
-
archery a blue ring on a target, between the red and the black, scoring five points
-
a blue ball in snooker, etc
-
another name for blueing
-
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
-
informal a mistake; error
-
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
-
(of the flesh) having a purple tinge, as from cold or contusion
-
depressed, moody, or unhappy
-
dismal or depressing
a blue day
-
indecent, titillating, or pornographic
blue films
-
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
-
relating to, supporting, or representing the Democratic Party Compare red 1
verb
-
to make, dye, or become blue
-
(tr) to treat (laundry) with blueing
-
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
-
are blueingprogressive
-
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:
It appeared extremely blue and was producing X-rays.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Particularly revealing are the blue columns, which show what your return would have been if you missed both the indicated number of best days and that same number of worst days.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Now, a parade of mining companies hoping to ride the boom are trying to grab attention by wrapping themselves in red, white and blue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
As with opposition to AI-fueling data centers, the revolt against Flock cameras is drawing support from across the political spectrum, uniting Republicans and Democrats in red and blue America.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
She wore a blue apron with green ribbons in multiple shades sewn across it over a dress with a blueberry print.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
The company, which was bought by Blue Apron in 2017, has operations across the world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
"It can be quite lonely... with society not understanding the impact it has," says Annalisa de Carteret, a pet loss support manager at animal charity Blue Cross.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Hybrids and EVs are generally more expensive than gas-guzzling cars, with the average new EV sales price over $56,000 in June, according to Kelley Blue Book.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
My range anxiety when heading for the Blue Ridge Parkway has been reduced to zero.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
One rainy evening, the Blue Bird Inn skidded off the highway, plunged down an embankment, and flipped onto its roof.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Researchers have found that, more often than not, the end-of-summer blues lead to stock market weakness.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
Last week, the blues rock band canceled its Hollywood Bowl concert because longtime drummer Frank Beard had health issues, Rolling Stone first reported.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
By Ma Rainey’s own testimony, she’d picked up on and incorporated into her compositions blues lines she’d heard used by wandering folk musicians.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
This watershed boxed set features cutting-edge remasters of the singer’s 1920s recordings, substantiating her centrality in blues and beyond.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
The air blues with evening as we enter the little ruin.
From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell
That extra mass essentially gave them a second lease on life, making them hotter, brighter, and bluer even though they are actually just as old as their neighboring stars.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 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
Will more of them leave for bluer pastures now that the man in charge has made explicit that he crushes the reach of links?
From Slate ● Nov. 26, 2024
One was of a blue ocean against an even bluer sky in the first room.
From "The Night Diary" by Veera Hiranandani
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
GameStop is the bluest of blue-chip meme stocks, the Apple or Nvidia of its little world.
From Slate ● May 13, 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
It was the bluest, clearest day of the summer.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
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
The afternoon air thickened and blued with gasoline fumes.
From Time Magazine Archive
Winchester Select Midnight The blued receiver carries extensive engraving, with gold-accented game birds on both sides and the bottom.
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
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
The Glen Alden Coal Co. of Buffalo and Rochester, N. Y., has made the last wash a blueing process.
From Time Magazine Archive
Or, after blueing in the vat, the black may be dyed or topped on by the process with copperas, which will be described below.
From The Dyeing of Woollen Fabrics by Franklin Beech
Note.—Sufficient blueing should be used to make the blueing water a pale sky-blue colour when a little of it is lifted in the hand.
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.
