Blue Definition & Meaning

American

British

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Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms blue American [bloo] / blu /

noun

1. the pure color of a clear sky; the primary color between green and violet in the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 450 and 500 nanometers.

   Synonyms: sapphire, cerulean, azure

2. bluing.

3. something having a blue color.

   Place the blue next to the red.

4. a person who wears blue or is a member of a group characterized by some blue symbol.

   Tomorrow the blues will play the browns.

5. (often initial capital letter) a member of the Union army in the American Civil War or the army itself.

6. bluestocking.

7. blue ribbon.

8. any of several blue-winged butterflies of the family Lycaenidae.

9. Printing. blueline.

10. the blue,

    1. the sky.

    2. the sea.

    3. the remote distance.

       They've vanished into the blue somewhere.

adjective

bluer, bluest

1. of the color of blue.

   a blue tie.

2. (initial capital letter) of or relating to the Union army in the American Civil War.

3. (of the skin) discolored by cold, contusion, fear, or vascular collapse.

4. depressed in spirits; dejected; melancholy.

   She felt blue about not being chosen for the team.

   Synonyms: downcast, glum, sad, dispirited, doleful, morose, unhappy, despondent Antonyms: happy

5. holding or offering little hope; dismal; bleak.

   a blue outlook.

   Synonyms: gloomy

6. characterized by or stemming from rigid morals or religion.

   statutes that were blue and unrealistic.

   Synonyms: strait-laced, puritanical, righteous

7. marked by blasphemy.

   The air was blue with oaths.

8. (of an animal's pelage) grayish-blue.

9. indecent; somewhat obscene; risqué.

   a blue joke or film.

10. Politics.

    1. relating to, supporting, or belonging to the Democratic Party in the United States; Democratic.

       The county effectively turned blue, with all 38 district judges elected being Democrats.

    2. British. politically conservative.

verb (used with object)

blued, bluing, blueing

1. to make blue; dye a blue color.

2. to tinge with bluing.

   Don't blue your clothes till the second rinse.

verb (used without object)

blued, bluing, blueing

1. to become or turn blue.

idioms

1. out of the blue, suddenly and unexpectedly.

   The inheritance came out of the blue as a stroke of good fortune.

2. blue in the face, exhausted and speechless, as from excessive anger, physical strain, etc..

   I reminded him about it till I was blue in the face.

blue 1 British / bluː /

noun

1. any of a group of colours, such as that of a clear unclouded sky, that have wavelengths in the range 490–445 nanometres. Blue is the complementary colour of yellow and with red and green forms a set of primary colours

2. a dye or pigment of any of these colours

3. blue cloth or clothing

   dressed in blue

4. 1. a sportsperson who represents or has represented Oxford or Cambridge University and has the right to wear the university colour (dark blue for Oxford, light blue for Cambridge)

      an Oxford blue

   2. the honour of so representing one's university

5. an informal name for Tory

6. any of numerous small blue-winged butterflies of the genera Lampides, Polyommatus , etc: family Lycaenidae

7. archaic short for bluestocking

8. slang a policeman

9. archery a blue ring on a target, between the red and the black, scoring five points

10. a blue ball in snooker, etc

11. another name for blueing

12. slang an argument or fight

    he had a blue with a taxi driver

13. Also: bluey. slang a court summons, esp for a traffic offence

14. informal a mistake; error

15. apparently from nowhere; unexpectedly

    the opportunity came out of the blue

16. into the unknown or the far distance

"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

adjective

1. of the colour blue

2. (of the flesh) having a purple tinge, as from cold or contusion

3. depressed, moody, or unhappy

4. dismal or depressing

   a blue day

5. indecent, titillating, or pornographic

   blue films

6. bluish in colour or having parts or marks that are bluish

   a blue fox

   a blue whale

7. rare aristocratic; noble; patrician See blue blood

   a blue family

8. relating to, supporting, or representing the Democratic Party Compare red 1

"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

verb

1. to make, dye, or become blue

2. (tr) to treat (laundry) with blueing

3. slang (tr) to spend extravagantly or wastefully; squander

"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 Blue 2 British / bluː /

noun

1. informal a nickname for a person with red hair

"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 blue More Idioms

More idioms and phrases containing blue

• between a rock and a hard place (devil and deep blue sea)
• black and blue
• bolt from the blue
• have the blues
• into thin air (the blue)
• like greased lightning (a blue streak)
• once in a blue moon
• out of a clear blue sky
• talk one's arm off (a blue streak
• until blue in the face)

Other Word Forms

• bluely adverb
• blueness noun
• half-blue adjective
• unblued adjective

Etymology

Origin of blue

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English blewe, from Anglo-French blew, bl(i)u, bl(i)ef “blue, livid, discolored,” Old French blo, blau ( French bleu ), from unattested Germanic blǣwaz; compare Old English blǣwen, contraction of blǣhǣwen “deep blue, perse,” Old Frisian blāw, Middle Dutch blā(u), Old High German blāo ( German blau ), Old Norse blār

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.

A hotel security guard in a blue shirt also joined the group.

From BBC

But the Kings tied it five minutes later when Drew Doughty’s shot from the blue line deflected off the heel of Bruins forward Elias Lindholm and into the net.

From Los Angeles Times

"I hate any kind of pollution to be honest, there's blue and green algae here, there's bird flu, ducks and swans dying."

From BBC

William, dressed in a dark blue knee-length coat and cashmere sweater, stepped out and worked the crowd.

From The Wall Street Journal

Our hair is the same shade of brown and our eyes are the same light blue.

From Literature

Related Words

• blue-green

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.