51Թ

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View synonyms for

blue

[bloo]

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: , ,
  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: , , , , , , ,
    Antonyms:
  5. holding or offering little hope; dismal; bleak.

    a blue outlook.

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

    statutes that were blue and unrealistic.

    Synonyms: , ,
  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.

blue

1

/ ː /

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

    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

  4. an informal name for Tory

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

  6. archaicshort for bluestocking

  7. slanga policeman

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

  9. a blue ball in snooker, etc

  10. another name for blueing

  11. slangan argument or fight

    he had a blue with a taxi driver

  12. Also: bluey.slanga court summons, esp for a traffic offence

  13. informala mistake; error

  14. apparently from nowhere; unexpectedly

    the opportunity came out of the blue

  15. 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. rarearistocratic; 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

/ ː /

noun

  1. informala 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
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Other 51Թ Forms

  • bluely adverb
  • blueness noun
  • half-blue adjective
  • unblued adjective
  • ˈܱ adverb
  • ˈܱԱ noun
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of blue1

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 ǣɲ; compare Old English ǣɱ, contraction of ǣǣɱ “deep blue, perse,” Old Frisian , Middle Dutch (), Old High German ( German blau ), Old Norse
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of blue1

C13: from Old French bleu , of Germanic origin; compare Old Norse , Old High German , Middle Dutch ; related to Latin ڱ屹ܲ yellow
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Idioms and Phrases

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.

In addition to the idioms beginning with blue, also see 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).
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Mr Gibson credited Tayside fire and rescue's blue response team for saving their lives and praised the call handler's response as "spectacular".

From

A family photo from Saturday's event was shared on the same Instagram account featuring Prince William dressed in uniform, Catherine and Charlotte in blue dresses with George and Louis in suits with red ties.

From

His car is painted with blue and yellow stripes, meaning it looks a lot like a police car.

From

"The amount of stuff you've got to do... medical appointments, or just extra stuff like forms to fill in, grant applications, blue badge applications."

From

However, despite two lengthy spells of pressure in the last 10 minutes of the first half, they were rebuffed by a defiant wall of blue.

From

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Related 51Թs

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.

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