Showing results for "red"

• a variation of redd.

Jump To:

• red
  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
  Red

  noun

  a male or female given name.
• red-
  red-

  variant of re- before a vowel or h in some words.
• -red
  -red

  a native English suffix, denoting condition, formerly used in the formation of nouns.

red

¹ American  

[red] / rɛd /

noun

• reds
  plural

1. 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.

2. something red.

3. Older Slang: Usually Disparaging. Often Red a radical leftist in politics, especially a Communist.

4. Informal. red light.

5. Informal. red wine.

   a glass of red.

6. Also called red devil.  Also called red bird,.  Also called 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

1. of the color red; of or like the color of blood.

   a red rose.

2. reddish purple in color.

   red wine made from purple grapes.

3. orange, golden brown, or reddish brown in color.

   red hair.

4. having distinctive areas or markings of red.

   a red robin.

5. bloodshot.

   red eyes from allergies.

6. (of the face) flushed or blushing, as from shame.

   cheeks red with embarrassment.

7. of or indicating a state of financial loss or indebtedness.

   the red column in the ledger.

8. 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.

9. Older Slang: Usually Disparaging.

   1. radically left politically.

   2. Often Red communist.

      Red China.

10. Older Use: Disparaging and Offensive. relating to, noting, or characteristic of North American Indian peoples.

idioms

1. see red, to become very angry; become enraged.

   Snobs make her see red.

2. paint the town red. paint.

3. 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

1. redd.

---

Red ³ American  

[red] / rɛd /

noun

1. a male or female given name.

2. a nickname typically given to someone with red hair.

---

red- ⁴ American  

1. variant of re- before a vowel or h in some words.

   redintegrate.

---

-red ⁵ American  

1. a native English suffix, denoting condition, formerly used in the formation of nouns.

   hatred; kindred.

---

red ¹ British  

/ rɛd /

noun

1. 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

2. a pigment or dye of or producing these colours

3. red cloth or clothing

   dressed in red

4. a red ball in snooker, billiards, etc

5. (in roulette and other gambling games) one of two colours on which players may place even bets, the other being black

6. Also called: inner.  archery a red ring on a target, between the blue and the gold, scoring seven points

7. informal in debit; owing money

8. informal to become very angry

---

adjective

1. of the colour red

2. reddish in colour or having parts or marks that are reddish

   red hair

   red deer

3. having the face temporarily suffused with blood, being a sign of anger, shame, etc

4. (of the complexion) rosy; florid

5. (of the eyes) bloodshot

6. (of the hands) stained with blood, as after committing murder

7. bloody or violent

   red revolution

8. (of wine) made from black grapes and coloured by their skins

9. denoting the highest degree of urgency in an emergency; used by the police and the army and informally (esp in the phrase red alert )

10. relating to, supporting, or representing the Republican Party Compare blue

verb

1. another word for redden

Red ² British  

/ rɛd /

adjective

1. Communist, Socialist, or Soviet

2. radical, leftist, or revolutionary

---

noun

1. 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

2. a radical, leftist, or revolutionary

red ³ British  

/ rɛd /

verb

1. (tr) a variant spelling of redd 1

---

red More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing red

• catch red-handed
• in the red
• not worth a dime (red cent)
• paint the town red
• see red

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• redness
  noun
• redly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• reds
  plural

Adjectives

• redder
  comparative
• reddest
  superlative

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

red Red red- -red reds redder reddest redding

Whang wore a cheetah print blazer, and Doyle wore a wide-brimmed black hat — they both had on gold and red eye makeup.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

In addition, it raises red flags that Treasury is worried something is wrong and Bessent is worried about letting investors transact in the Treasury market, he added.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

Scavenger animals such as possums, red foxes and crows can be exposed to the virus while devouring the carcasses of infected birds.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026

It causes the number of red blood cells in the body to be reduced, and leads to fatigue and shortness of breath.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

From the corner of my eye, I spot something that I missed before—a vase of red flowers sitting on the windowsill.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

"Attacks against volunteers and humanitarian personnel are unacceptable," the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement said in a statement, along with the Red Cross societies of the DR Congo and Uganda.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

If my niece and nephew receive the house and SUV, I would probably ask them to donate half of the proceeds to the Red Cross.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

The seven-time champion, who finished seventh behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Red Bull's Max Verstappen, is three points ahead of Russell in the championship.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

Red Willow now holds an interest in more than 1,800 wells.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

But I can tell by Father’s yearning voice he wants Caesar to come—all the way to the border, across the Red River.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

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

Managing editor Andrew Gulli found the Capote story in the Library of Congress, inside an “old red- and gold-scrolled Florentine notebook,” he writes on the Strand editorial page.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2023

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 stage was massive, with vast red- and-gold curtains drawn back to reveal a magnificent make-believe forest with a rolling painted ocean at the back of the wooden deck.

From "The Marvels" by Brian Selznick

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

The color palette is dominated by greens, blues and violets toward the east, marking the sun’s rise, and reds, oranges and golds to the west.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Throughout the day, fans crossed the grounds in bright Latin American soccer jerseys, the eye-catching complementary greens and reds of Mexico and the rich blue of El Salvador dotting the crowd.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

A Bordeaux-style blend that embodies Black Ankle’s strength: elegant and ageable reds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

A few months ago at the Pasadena City College Swap Meet, Whitley watched Saar pass stall after stall, ignoring all the wrong blues and reds, until something suddenly caught her attention.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

False color image of the Great Red Spot, in which the computer has exaggerated reds and blues at the expense of greens.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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

He got redder and redder in the face, yelling and leading the crowd in chants of “Shame on Sliwa!”

From Slate ● Nov. 5, 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

Porter was a loyal soldier — she helped local candidates win through endorsements and made progressives in the redder parts of O.C. believe they could run and win.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 8, 2024

I didn’t think my skin could get any redder than it was, but I was pretty sure I had started glowing like a protostar about to undergo its first burst of fusion.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

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

Union steamfitter Dan Osborn is running against incumbent Republican Sen. Deb Fischer in Nebraska, one of the country's reddest states — and there are signs that the race could be much closer than expected.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2024

She wears the reddest lipstick I've ever seen.

From "Sunny" by Jason Reynolds

Mrs. Truman was redding up her rambling, 80-year-old home at 219 North Delaware St. in Independence.

From Time Magazine Archive

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

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

Harrietta did a good deal of tidying and dusting and redding up in her own two-room apartment, so high and bright and spotless.

From Gigolo by Edna Ferber

It looks very well mixed with water, like redding; but it gives it a glossy appearance to boil the lead in soft soap, with a little water to keep it from burning.

From The American Frugal Housewife by Lydia Maria Francis Child

Related Words

• cardinal
• coral
• crimson
• flaming
• glowing
• maroon
• rose
• wine