Showing results for "blues"

• present tense form of blue (3rd person singular).
• plural of blue.

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• blues
  blues

  noun

  the blues, depressed spirits; despondency; melancholy.
• Blues
  Blues

  plural noun

  the Royal Horse Guards

blues

¹ American  

[blooz] / bluz /

noun

1. (used with a plural verb) the blues, depressed spirits; despondency; melancholy.

   This rainy spell is giving me the blues.

2. (used with a singular verb)

   1. a song, originating with African Americans, that is marked by the frequent occurrence of blue notes, and that takes the basic form, customarily improvised upon in performance, of a 12-bar chorus consisting of a 3-line stanza with the second line repeating the first.

   2. the genre constituting such songs.

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blues ² American  

[blooz] / bluz /

noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. any of various blue military uniforms worn by members of the U.S. armed services.

   dress blues.

2. a blue uniform for work; blue work clothes.

   a doctor in surgical blues.

3. Informal. police.

   The blues keep this neighborhood safe.

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Blues ¹ British  

/ bluːz /

plural noun

1. the Royal Horse Guards

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blues ² British  

/ bluːz /

plural noun

1. a feeling of depression or deep unhappiness

2. a type of folk song devised by Black Americans at the beginning of the 20th century, usually employing a basic 12-bar chorus, the tonic, subdominant, and dominant chords, frequent minor intervals, and blue notes

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blues Cultural  

1. A kind of jazz that evolved from the music of African-Americans, especially work songs and spirituals (see also spirituals), in the early twentieth century. Blues pieces often express worry or depression.

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blues Idioms  

1. see have the blues.

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Other Word Forms

• bluesy
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of blues¹

First recorded in 1740–50; cf. blue (in the sense “depressed in spirits; dejected; melancholy”)

Origin of blues²

see origin at blue, -s ³

Explanation

If you've got the blues, you probably want to lie in bed and cry — or get out your guitar and sadly sing the blues. Since the fourteenth century, the word blue has been used to mean "sad." The noun blues came into use in the 1700s to describe a state of sadness or melancholy. Around a hundred years later, a Black American musical genre adopted the word to describe its particular twelve-bar chord progression and folksy sound. Lyrics in blues music often describe hard times, struggles, and a particular kind of melancholy mood.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blues Blues

Researchers have found that, more often than not, the end-of-summer blues lead to stock market weakness.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

Jeff Beck was captivated by the sound of American blues artists.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Keep the post-World Cup blues at bay by watching these 15 international series.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

“You don’t improve your jazz in the studio. You’re in the studio because of the jazz and blues that you know,” Johnson said in one interview.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

There was the same iron bedstead, and the quilt was multicolored, faded but still cheerful with reds and blues and greens and yellows.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

Given where they finished, the Blues will not be playing in any European competition this campaign.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

The Blues have also been very busy this summer - and broke their club record to sign attacking midfielder Morgan Rogers for £117m from Aston Villa.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

One study, titled “Winter Blues: A Sad Stock Market Cycle,” found that stock-market returns are “significantly related to the amount of daylight through the fall and winter.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

The Blues have had players stranded in a 'bomb squad' in the past, like Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi last season.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Blues scales, used in blues, jazz, and other African-American traditions, grew out of a compromise between European and African scales.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones