red
noun
any of various colors resembling the color of blood; the primary color at one extreme end of the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 610 and 780 nanometers.
red
1 American
[red]
/ rɛd /
noun
-
reds
plural
-
any of various colors resembling the color of blood; the primary color at one extreme end of the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 610 and 780 nanometers.
-
something red.
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Older Slang: Usually Disparaging. Often Red a radical leftist in politics, especially a Communist.
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Informal. red light.
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Informal. red wine.
a glass of red.
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Also called red devil, red bird, red doll. Slang. a capsule of the drug secobarbital, usually red in color.
He was caught with a half dozen reds in the bottom of his pack of cigarettes.
adjective
-
redder,
comparative
-
reddest
superlative
-
of the color red; of or like the color of blood.
a red rose.
-
reddish purple in color.
red wine made from purple grapes.
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orange, golden brown, or reddish brown in color.
red hair.
-
having distinctive areas or markings of red.
a red robin.
-
red eyes from allergies.
-
(of the face) flushed or blushing, as from shame.
cheeks red with embarrassment.
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of or indicating a state of financial loss or indebtedness.
the red column in the ledger.
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Politics. relating to, supporting, or belonging to the Republican Party in the United States; Republican.
This is big news in that it flips a red Senate seat to blue.
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Older Slang: Usually Disparaging.
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radically left politically.
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Often Red communist.
Red China.
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Older Use: Disparaging and Offensive. relating to, noting, or characteristic of North American Indian peoples.
idioms
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see red, to become very angry; become enraged.
Snobs make her see red.
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paint the town red. paint.
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in the red, operating at a loss or being in debt (opposed to in the black).
The newspaper strike put many businesses in the red.
red
2
American
[red]
/ rɛd /
verb (used with object)
red,
redding
Red
3
American
[red]
/ rɛd /
noun
-
a male or female given name.
-
a nickname typically given to someone with red hair.
red-
4
American
-red
5
American
red
1
British
/ rɛd /
noun
-
any of a group of colours, such as that of a ripe tomato or fresh blood, that lie at one end of the visible spectrum, next to orange, and are perceived by the eye when light in the approximate wavelength range 740–620 nanometres falls on the retina. Red is the complementary colour of cyan and forms a set of primary colours with blue and green
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a pigment or dye of or producing these colours
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red cloth or clothing
dressed in red
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a red ball in snooker, billiards, etc
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(in roulette and other gambling games) one of two colours on which players may place even bets, the other being black
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Also called: inner. archery a red ring on a target, between the blue and the gold, scoring seven points
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informal in debit; owing money
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informal to become very angry
adjective
-
of the colour red
-
reddish in colour or having parts or marks that are reddish
red hair
red deer
-
having the face temporarily suffused with blood, being a sign of anger, shame, etc
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(of the complexion) rosy; florid
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(of the eyes) bloodshot
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(of the hands) stained with blood, as after committing murder
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bloody or violent
red revolution
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(of wine) made from black grapes and coloured by their skins
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denoting the highest degree of urgency in an emergency; used by the police and the army and informally (esp in the phrase red alert )
-
relating to, supporting, or representing the Republican Party Compare blue
verb
Red
2
British
/ rɛd /
adjective
-
Communist, Socialist, or Soviet
-
radical, leftist, or revolutionary
noun
-
a member or supporter of a Communist or Socialist Party or a national of a state having such a government, esp the former Soviet Union
-
a radical, leftist, or revolutionary
red
3
British
/ rɛd /
verb
red
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of red1
First recorded before 900; Middle English red, Old English rēad; cognate with German rot, Dutch rood, Old Norse raudhr, Latin rūfus, ruber, Greek erythrós; see rubella, rufescent, erythro-
Origin of -red5
Middle English -rede, Old English -rǣden
Explanation
The color red is a primary hue found at the end of the spectrum. You might turn red with embarrassment. It also represents financial loss, as in the term "red ink." The word red goes back to before 900, and we can see its roots in the Old English rēad. The idea of red as a signal to stop came in 1849. The color has been associated with rebellion as far back as the 13th Century, and in 1917, the Russian Bolsheviks adopted the color as their symbol. When the movement became the political party of Communism, the members became known as "Reds."
Vocabulary lists containing red
Red
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Bright red banners nearby celebrate last year’s 70th anniversary of China making Xinjiang an official “autonomous region.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Leigh-Ann still had heat on her after Jerry's banishment, with her bright red - blood red? - leather-look long gloves drawing attention in the kitchen.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, Mumbai, Wellington and Manila were all deep in the red.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
On another late summer night in New York, under the red glow of the DJ booth and a canopy of globe string lights, the rooftop’s wooden floorboards dip beneath scores of platform heels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
At its center, the portal deepened to black, splintered by shocks of red lightning.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Myanmar authorities said Suu Kyi was moved from a prison in Naypyidaw to house arrest in April, and in August they published images of her meeting the nation's Red Cross representative.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
Carlyle turned to F1, signing a multiyear sponsorship deal with Oracle Red Bull Racing, the team of world champion driver Max Verstappen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Since then the Houthis have made a lighting advance along the Red Sea coast, and they have now completely cut off Yemen's third largest city, Taiz.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
He captained Lancashire in the County Championship last season but the Red Rose endured a poor campaign, finishing next to bottom of Division Two.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
From the day she read that story, Daisy was bound and determined that when she grew up she was going to be a Red Cross nurse.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
As Mr. Haskell kept watching, a flock of rainbow lorikeets, in their blue-, red-, orange- and green-feathered glory, blew in, “like windblown confetti,” chasing off the figbirds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
The city will prioritize homes for the buyout of the eight homes that have been red- or yellow-tagged — officially deemed unsafe to enter or unlivable, respectively.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2024
Then the Grulla students ran onto the stage to join their friends, and red- and blue-clad mariachis embraced each other joyously.
From New York Times ● Nov. 3, 2022
The ECB also hopes a revised schedule will allow a greater balance between red- and white-ball cricket, produce higher-quality matches, and ease the strain on players' workloads.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2022
Many were Dothraki horselords, big men with red- brown skin, their drooping mustachios bound in metal rings, their black hair oiled and braided and hung with bells.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Veterans proudly wore the distinctive berets of their old regiments -red for the Colonials recruited overseas, blue for paratroopers of Metropolitan France, green for Foreign Legionnaires.
From Time Magazine Archive
More of the shorter blue wavelengths of light are scattered, allowing the yellows, oranges and reds to become more prominent.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
The right map above illustrates that shift, with lighter reds and blues showing much smaller rates of change during that decade.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
"Today I see a boom in Ukrainian wineries," he said, noting that from full-bodied reds in the south to the crisp whites of the west, "our terroirs and climate are incredibly diverse".
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
A Bordeaux-style blend that embodies Black Ankle’s strength: elegant and ageable reds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
His view into the darkness of space is empty compared to the orange and reds of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains back home.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
This is because the sunlight it reflects reaches us through a more dense part of the Earth's atmosphere which scatters blue and violet light, and means only the redder hues reach us.
From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2026
As Arizona yielded to New Mexico, the dirt seemed to get redder and the ridges rose to form buttes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025
"SN2025pht is surprising because it appeared much redder than almost any other red supergiant we've seen explode as a supernova," Kilpatrick added.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 9, 2025
The closer the moon is to the Earth during an eclipse, the redder it looks, making it a super blood moon.
From Slate ● Apr. 5, 2024
Sister Marie Patrice just got redder and redder.
From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge
It’s an oasis for arts, tasteful wealth, and Southern manners in one of the reddest parts of the country.
From Slate ● May 4, 2026
And for the open seat in Iowa, Democrats seem likely to nominate a two-time Paralympic gold medalist who represents the reddest state house seat held by a Democrat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2026
"It's the reddest, dustiest red supergiant that we've seen explode as a supernova," Suresh said.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 9, 2025
After his first few days on set, he returned to his dressing room to find an enormous bouquet of, as he put it, “the biggest and reddest roses I’ve seen in my life.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 6, 2024
He put die three fish on the board, pushed sharpened pegs through their tails into cracks on the cooking board, and propped it next to the reddest part of the coals.
From "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen
As Iran's young Shah came to power 20,000 Russian troops were camped outside Teheran, redding up their tanks for a triumphal entry into the city.
From Time Magazine Archive
Mrs. Truman was redding up her rambling, 80-year-old home at 219 North Delaware St. in Independence.
From Time Magazine Archive
“There!” she said to herself, “it will be a while before they find that, and when they do they can call it Mary Ann’s flighty way of redding up a room.”
From McClure's Magazine, Vol. XXXI, No. 4, August 1908 by Various
Said I not to ye, Make not, meddle not?—Beware of the redding straik!
From Guy Mannering by Sir Walter Scott
The children seeing their little duties lie in action close around them, began to try each one to do something that she suggested towards redding up the slatternly room.
From North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
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