blues
1[ blooz ]
/ bluz /
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noun
the 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.
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Origin of blues
1First recorded in 1740–50; cf. blue (in the sense “depressed in spirits; dejected; melancholy”)
OTHER WORDS FROM blues
bluesy, adjectiveDefinition for blues (2 of 2)
blues2
[ blooz ]
/ bluz /
noun (used with a plural verb)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for blues
British Dictionary definitions for blues (1 of 2)
blues
/ (bluːz) /
pl n the blues (sometimes functioning as singular)
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, adjectiveBritish Dictionary definitions for blues (2 of 2)
Blues
/ (bluːz) /
pl n
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
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.
Idioms and Phrases with blues
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.