blue
blue [blue blues blued bluing blueing bluer bluest] adjective, noun BrE [bluː] NAmE [bluː]
adjective (bluer, blu·est)
1. having the colour of a clear sky or the sea/ocean on a clear day
•piercing blue eyes
•a blue shirt
2. (of a person or part of the body)looking slightly blue in colour because the person is cold or cannot breathe easily
• Her hands were blue with cold.
3. (informal)sad
Syn: ↑depressed
• He'd been feeling blue all week.
4. films/movies, jokes or stories that are blue are about sex
•a blue movie
5. (politics)(of an area in the US) having more people who vote for the Democratic candidate than the Republican one
•blue states/counties
Opp: ↑red
see also ↑true-blue
more at (beat sb) black and blue at ↑black adj., between the devil and the deep blue sea at ↑devil, once in a blue moon at ↑once adv., scream blue murder at ↑scream v.
Word Origin:
Middle English: from Old French bleu, ultimately of Germanic origin and related to Old English blǣwen ‘blue’ and Old Norse blár ‘dark blue’.
Example Bank:
•a navy blue jumper
•her vivid blue eyes
Idioms: ↑do something till you are blue in the face ▪ ↑out of the blue
Derived Word: ↑blueness
noun
see also ↑blues
1. countable, uncountable the colour of a clear sky or the sea/ocean on a clear day
•bright/dark/light/pale blue
• The room was decorated in vibrant blues and yellows.
• She was dressed in blue.
2. countable (BrE)a person who has played a particular sport for Oxford or Cambridge University; a title given to them
•He's an Oxford rugby blue.
•She won a blue for rowing.
3. countable (AustralE, NZE, informal)a mistake
4. countable (AustralE, NZE, informal)a name for a person with red hair
5. countable (AustralE, NZE, informal)a fight
more at a bolt from the blue at ↑bolt n., the boys in blue at ↑boy n.
Word Origin:
Middle English: from Old French bleu, ultimately of Germanic origin and related to Old English blǣwen ‘blue’ and Old Norse blár ‘dark blue’.
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