blues
1the blues, (used with a plural verb) depressed spirits; despondency; melancholy: This rainy spell is giving me the blues.
(used with a singular verb)Jazz.
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.
the genre constituting such songs.
Origin of blues
1Other words from blues
- bluesy, adjective
Words Nearby blues
Other definitions for blues (2 of 2)
Origin of blues
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use blues in a sentence
My Playground Was a Ditch by the Train Tracks could be a nice blues album if you decide to keep doing work that doesn’t require your face.
One of my favorite blues records was recorded in 1962 by Williams, a Louisianan guitarist who spent years in the Louisiana State Penitentiary before getting released.
Cry Your Heart Out: The 11 Best Breakup Albums Ever Made | Peter Allen Clark | September 17, 2021 | TimeI’ll need money and clothes, but not the gorgeous red blues guitar hanging on the wall.
Why We New Orleanians Keep Coming Back After Every Storm | Maurice Carlos Ruffin | September 2, 2021 | TimeAfter kicking his heroin habit temporarily for the first time, he soon emerged with a 10-minute, driving blues number that he reportedly jotted down on toilet paper during the session.
Lee Morgan’s ‘Live at the Lighthouse’ was a masterpiece that turned out to be a farewell | Shannon J. Effinger | August 27, 2021 | Washington PostHill was a seasoned blues musician by the time he joined ZZ Top, having played bass with performers including Freddie King and Lightnin’ Hopkins.
Dusty Hill, ZZ Top bassist with a legendary beard, dies at 72 | Harrison Smith | July 29, 2021 | Washington Post
Ragtime, blues, country, jazz, soul, and rock and roll were all pioneered or inspired by black artists.
Artists like Mick Jagger and Van Morrison obsessively revered and imitated African-American blues and rock musicians.
You spice it with blues and skiffle music, and pickle it in alcohol and tobacco smoke.
The Greatest Rock Voice of All Time Belonged to Joe Cocker | Ted Gioia | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST"Goin' Down Slow" Cocker and Elton John duetted on this blues cover on French music show Trafic Musique in 2005.
English blues and rock singer Joe Cocker has died at age 70.
She dressed in simple lines and quiet tones, dark blues and black, with only a broad lace collar and cuffs in neat relief.
The Woman Gives | Owen JohnsonThe woods of the Undercliff sank softly to the blues and purple, the silver streaks and gorgeous shadows of the sea floor.
Marriage la mode | Mrs. Humphry WardI shall hear of his having the blues and nervous attacks next, I suppose.
The Seven Cardinal Sins: Envy and Indolence | Eugne SueShe made a white-robed, dusky figure against the deep blues of my big window.
The New Machiavelli | Herbert George WellsI like the Wall of Troy design you are using, and the blues and gray will be a good combination.
Patchwork | Anna Balmer Myers
British Dictionary definitions for blues (1 of 2)
/ (bluːz) /
a feeling of depression or deep unhappiness
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
Derived forms of blues
- bluesy, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for Blues (2 of 2)
/ (bluːz) /
the Blues British the Royal Horse Guards
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
Cultural definitions for blues
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.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with blues
see have the blues.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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