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• a variation of redd.

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• 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, 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.

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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.

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Red ³ American  

[red] / rɛd /

noun

1. a male or female given name.

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

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red- ⁴ American  

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

   redintegrate.

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-red ⁵ American  

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

   hatred; kindred.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• redness
  noun
• redly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• reds
  plural

Adjectives

• redder
  comparative
• reddest
  superlative

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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

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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

Not all of these are ranked equally—a green thumbs-up means an optimal window to run out, while a red thumbs-down means emergencies only.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

The law was relaxed at the start of this season to say not all hair pulling should be a red card, after three players were sent off last season.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

The Moneyish examines the red flags and weighs in on what she should do the next.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026

"To detect intact heme-derived molecules in 115-million-year-old red blood cells is astonishing: this really is a landmark discovery," Professor Grice said.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026

I feel my face get hot, and I’m glad it’s dark because I’m pretty sure I’m as red as a fire-roasted tomato.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

At Red Bull, the situation is much simpler as the team build serious momentum in this final part of the season.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

It sailed through the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

He said the Red Bull Dragonberry Energizer had been particularly popular.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026

Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy in 2024, after its disastrous $20 all-you-can-eat shrimp deal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

I chased Patch the way he chased the birds and we fell over each other, tumbling and laughing, with Sean Red in back of us, pointing as the tide began to turn.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

Officials are also continuing to monitor coastal homes that were red- and yellow-tagged during the weekend onslaught.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

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

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

We sat down at a table covered with a cheery red- checkered tablecloth in a cold, abstract arrangement of squares—the kind of pattern the demons favored.

From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep

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

You may find soft pink, mauve and lilac relaxing, or you may find yellows and reds more vibrant and lift your mood.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 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

When she learned a colleague could not tell the reds from the greens in a presentation, she stepped in with a colorblind-friendly palette.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

Even more curious was his standard bearer—a woman, garbed all in reds, face shadowed within the deep hood of her scarlet cloak.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

As a galaxy moves away, its light is stretched toward redder wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026

And with higher sugar concentrations, a pigment called anthocyanin is produced, making the leaves even redder.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2025

As he dispersed the light from dozens of galaxies into a spectrum, which recorded the amount of light at each wavelength, he noticed that the light was always shifted to longer or redder wavelengths.

From Salon ● Feb. 14, 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

Aunt Loma’s face suddenly went redder than ever.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

At the other end of the color spectrum, the astronomers identified another extraordinary white dwarf that may be the reddest star ever documented.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026

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

For followers of medical disinformation, the claim that autism is linked to childhood vaccinations is the reddest of red flags.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 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 had a face full of freckles and the reddest hair I’d ever seen, pulled up into a sloppy, lopsided bun on top of her head.

From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez

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

Bricks can be kept clean with redding stirred up in water, and put on with a brush.

From The American Frugal Housewife by Lydia Maria Francis Child

She did not lie there looking at the sparrows or at Leeby redding up the house, and I hardly ever heard her complain.

From A Window in Thrums by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie

He had been ushered out by the Boarder, who was still actively engaged in "redding up."

From Amarilly of Clothes-line Alley by Belle Kanaris Maniates

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