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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. 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 ² British  

/ bluːz /

plural noun

1. the Royal Horse Guards

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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

Derived 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

He is also aware that, while the post-Games comedown - often referred to as 'Olympic blues' - was a key factor in his struggles, his problems really began long before.

From BBC • Feb. 22, 2021

“Pynchon talks about ‘those little kid blues’ that haunt Doc.

From Washington Post • Jan. 7, 2015

They will also have sleeve notes that explain the blues' importance to the development of rock and pop.

From The Guardian • Mar. 7, 2013

Do you think he'd have shaved any of the blues' officers in La Vendée twenty years ago, for all the money they could have offered him?

From La Vendée by Trollope, Anthony