blues

¹

[blooz]

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.

blues

²

[blooz]

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.

blues

¹

/ 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

Blues

²

/ bluːz /

plural noun

1. the Royal Horse Guards

blues

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.

Other Word Forms

• bluesy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of blues¹

blue, -s ³

Origin of blues²

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

Idioms and Phrases

see have the blues.

Example Sentences

He recalled a night when he was 19 and going to a blues bar with fellow comedians John Belushi and Robin Williams, and “they put some blow on the table.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Marshals, and other authorities gathered at barricades along Beale Street, the city’s famous blues hub.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He studied music at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he received several student awards from DownBeat magazine, and he settled in Chicago in 2007, where he began playing with blues and jazz giants there.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Without a win this year, Ferrari and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in particular badly need a result to banish the blues.

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“You were the pioneer of neo-soul and that changed and transformed rhythm & blues forever. We will never forget you.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times