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, adjectiveOther definitions 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. 2022
How to use blues in a sentence
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.
Other 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.