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.
Older Slang: Usually Disparaging. Often Red a radical leftist in politics, especially a Communist.
Informal. red light.
Informal. red wine.
a glass of red.
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.
of the color red; of or like the color of blood.
a red rose.
reddish purple in color.
red wine made from purple grapes.
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.
of or indicating a state of financial loss or indebtedness.
the red column in the ledger.
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.
Older Slang: Usually Disparaging.
radically left politically.
Often Red communist.
Red China.
Older Use: Disparaging and Offensive. relating to, noting, or characteristic of North American Indian peoples.
see red, to become very angry; become enraged.
Snobs make her see red.
paint the town red. paint.
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.
a male or female given name.
a nickname typically given to someone with red hair.
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
a pigment or dye of or producing these colours
red cloth or clothing
dressed in red
a red ball in snooker, billiards, etc
(in roulette and other gambling games) one of two colours on which players may place even bets, the other being black
Also called: inner. archery a red ring on a target, between the blue and the gold, scoring seven points
informal in debit; owing money
informal to become very angry
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
(of the complexion) rosy; florid
(of the eyes) bloodshot
(of the hands) stained with blood, as after committing murder
bloody or violent
red revolution
(of wine) made from black grapes and coloured by their skins
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
Communist, Socialist, or Soviet
radical, leftist, or revolutionary
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
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-
Middle English -rede, Old English -rǣden
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."
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Advantest is down 8.0%, and Mitsui Kinzoku 5706 -7.97%decrease; red down pointing triangle is 6.1% lower.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The Madrid region is currently under a red weather warning, with temperatures expected to reach 35C in mountainous areas and 38C in other parts of the community.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Similar grants for red states were unaffected, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Public broadcaster NHK cited police sources as saying that between 20 and 30 employees could not be contacted, showing footage of emergency vehicles with flashing red lights outside.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Like magic, Caesar and his horse appear, moving against a backdrop of mountains and a sky radiating with yellow, orange, and red streaks.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Saudi Arabia began relying more on its Red Sea route after the Strait of Hormuz closed amid the war in Iran.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
Exactly 60 years after Williams’ induction speech on the steps of the Hall of Fame, Baker walked into the Hall and was greeted by the loud roars of another Boston Red Sox legend, David Ortiz.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Red pepper flakes and everything bagel seasoning cover the remaining territory — heat, funk, nuttiness, crunch — in a few economical shakes.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
"The imager performed brilliantly, delivering some rarely seen views of the Red Planet," said Jim Bell, the Psyche imager instrument lead at Arizona State University in Tempe.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
“No. Not for me. Red makes me look ghoulish. Got any new pink ones?”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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
And close behind came the young lord himself, a dashing figure on a black courser, with red- gold hair and a black satin cloak dusted with stars.
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
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
She adds that it is specifically younger drinkers asking for chilled reds.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
“When you get into the wedding scene, everybody is in pinks, soft reds, oranges and yellows,” Maciek said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
There are three different shades of orange AND lots of reds and yellows so you can make your own orange.
From "Mockingbird" by Kathryn Erskine
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
They are sweeter and redder, more candylike than acidic.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2023
It burned redder than the other stars, and did not twinkle, though sometimes it flared up bright and sometimes dwindled down to no more than a distant spark, dull and faint.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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
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
The research team looked for the reddest stars, and found 1,001 pinpoint sources of light, most of them young stars still embedded in their dusty cocoons.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2023
It tasted unbelievably tender, like the reddest steak, with a whiff of fish in the fattier bits.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2022
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
The room is, of course, very clear and clean and simple: not by any means cheaply equipped, but designed to economize the labor of redding and repair just as much as possible.
From The Cost of Shelter by Richards, Ellen H.
She was mending or weaving nets, she was redding up her own home.
From Christine A Fife Fisher Girl by Barr, Amelia Edith Huddleston
For brick hearths use redding mixed with thin starch and milk.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
