OTHER WORDS FOR blue
15 gloomy, dispiriting.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Idioms about blue
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.
out of the blue, suddenly and unexpectedly: The inheritance came out of the blue as a stroke of good fortune.
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
OTHER WORDS FROM blue
blue·ly, adverbblue·ness, nounhalf-blue, adjectiveun·blued, adjectiveWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH blue
blew, blueDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use blue in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for blue (1 of 2)
blue
/ (bluː) /
noun
adjective bluer or bluest
verb blues, blueing, bluing or blued
See also blues
Derived forms of blue
bluely, adverbblueness, nounWord Origin for blue
C13: from Old French bleu, of Germanic origin; compare Old Norse blār, Old High German blāo, Middle Dutch blā; related to Latin flāvus yellow
British Dictionary definitions for blue (2 of 2)
Blue
Bluey
/ (bluː) /
noun
Australian informal a nickname for a person with red hair
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with blue
blue
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.