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; blue (in the sense “depressed in spirits; dejected; melancholy”)

Origin of blues¹

blue, -s ³

Example Sentences

These songs made their scenes indelible, from classic rock and dance pop to old-timey blues and thrash.

From Los Angeles Times

But they’re not the soft blues of robins’ eggs or the deep navy of natural indigo.

From Literature

For one thing, there’s the blues—just about every outfit plays its own version of this venerable form, most famously Miller’s “St. Louis Blues March.”

From The Wall Street Journal

At A-Basin, as locals call it, you still get 1,400 acres of mostly intermediate and advanced terrain, including moguls on Powder Keg and the wide, groomed blues off the Zuma lift.

From The Wall Street Journal

As we follow the cat on her solitary journey through a wind-tossed landscape of muted grays and blues, the question of what a small cat needs takes on a more philosophical bent.

From The Wall Street Journal