blue
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blue
a primary color: blue sky
Not to be confused with:
blew – past tense of blow: The wind blew hard at the coast.
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree
blue
(blo͞o)n.
1. The hue of that portion of the visible spectrum lying between green and indigo, evoked in the human observer by radiant energy with wavelengths of approximately 420 to 490 nanometers; any of a group of colors that may vary in lightness and saturation, whose hue is that of a clear daytime sky; one of the additive or light primaries; one of the psychological primary hues.
2.
a. A pigment or dye imparting this hue.
b. Bluing.
3.
a. An object having this hue.
b. Dress or clothing of this hue: The ushers wore blue.
4.
a. A person who wears a blue uniform.
b. blues A dress blue uniform, especially that of the US Army.
5. often Blue
a. A member of the Union Army in the Civil War.
b. The Union Army.
6. A bluefish.
7. Any of various small blue butterflies of the family Lycaenidae.
8.
a. The sky.
b. The sea.
adj. blu·er, blu·est
1. Of the color blue.
2. Bluish or having parts that are blue or bluish, as the blue spruce and the blue whale.
3. Having a gray or purplish color, as from cold or contusion.
4. Wearing blue.
5. Being a trail, as for skiing, marked with a sign having a blue square, indicating an intermediate level of difficulty.
6. Relating to or being a blue state.
7.
a. Gloomy; depressed. See Synonyms at depressed.
b. Dismal; dreary: a blue day.
8. Puritanical; strict.
9. Aristocratic; patrician.
10. Indecent; risqué: a blue joke; a blue movie.
tr. & intr.v. blued, blu·ing, blues
Idioms: To make or become blue.
blue in the face
At the point of extreme exasperation: I argued with them until I was blue in the face.
into the blue
At a far distance; into the unknown: spontaneously take a trip into the blue.
out of the blue
1. From an unexpected or unforeseen source: criticism that came out of the blue.
2. At a completely unexpected time: a long-unseen friend who appeared out of the blue.
[Middle English blue, bleu, from Old French bleu, of Germanic origin; see bhel- in Indo-European roots.]
blue′ly adv.
blue′ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
blue
(bluː)n
1. (Colours) 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. (Dyeing) a dye or pigment of any of these colours
3. (Textiles) blue cloth or clothing: dressed in blue.
4. (Education)
a. 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.
b. the honour of so representing one's university
5. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) Brit an informal name for Tory
6. (Animals) 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) archery a blue ring on a target, between the red and the black, scoring five points
10. (Billiards & Snooker) a blue ball in snooker, etc
11. (Dyeing) another name for blueing
12. slang Austral and NZ an argument or fight: he had a blue with a taxi driver.
13. (Law) slang Also: bluey Austral and NZ a court summons, esp for a traffic offence
14. informal Austral and NZ a mistake; error
15. out of the blue apparently from nowhere; unexpectedly: the opportunity came out of the blue.
16. into the blue into the unknown or the far distance
adj, bluer or bluest
17. (Colours) of the colour blue
18. (of the flesh) having a purple tinge, as from cold or contusion
19. depressed, moody, or unhappy
20. dismal or depressing: a blue day.
21. indecent, titillating, or pornographic: blue films.
22. (Animals) bluish in colour or having parts or marks that are bluish: a blue fox; a blue whale.
23. rare aristocratic; noble; patrician: a blue family. See blue blood
24. US relating to, supporting, or representing the Democratic Party. Compare red118
vb, blues, blueing, bluing or blued
25. to make, dye, or become blue
26. (Dyeing) (tr) to treat (laundry) with blueing
27. (tr) slang to spend extravagantly or wastefully; squander
[C13: from Old French bleu, of Germanic origin; compare Old Norse blār, Old High German blāo, Middle Dutch blā; related to Latin flāvus yellow]
ˈbluely adv
ˈblueness n
Blue
(bluː) orBluey
n
informal Austral a nickname for a person with red hair
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
blue
n.
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 nm.
2. bluing.
3. something having a blue color.
4. a person wearing blue or belonging to a group identified by some blue symbol.
5. (often cap.) a member of the Union army in the American Civil War, or the army itself. Compare gray 1 (def. 11).
7. any of several blue-winged butterflies of the family Lycaenidae.
8. Brit. and Canadian. (often cap.) Tory (def. 1).
9. the blue,
adj. a. the sky.
b. the sea.
c. the remote distance.
10. of the color blue.
11. (of the skin) discolored by cold, contusion, fear, or vascular collapse.
12. depressed in spirits; dejected; melancholy.
13. holding or offering little hope; dismal; bleak: a blue outlook.
14. adhering to or stemming from rigid moral or religious observance; puritanical.
15. indecent; suggestive or obscene; risqué: a blue joke.
16. marked by blasphemy: The air was blue with oaths.
v.t. 17. to make blue; dye a blue color.
18. to tinge with bluing.
v.i. 19. to become or turn blue.
Idioms: 1. blue in the face, at an extreme point of frustration, irritation, discouragement, etc.: to argue till one is blue in the face.
2. out of the blue, suddenly and unexpectedly.
[1250–1300; Middle English blewe < Anglo-French blew, bl(i)u blue, livid, Old French blo, blau < Germanic *blǣwaz]
blue′ly, adv.
blue′ness, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
Blue
See Also: COLORS
- Blue and delicate as spring sky reflected in an old window —Elizabeth Spencer
- (Eyes) blue as chicory in bloom —Ed McBain
- (Sky … ) blue as a robin’s egg —Lee Smith
- Blue as a brochure sea —William McIlvanney
- Blue as a jay bird’s wing —Ellen Glasgow
- (Eyes as) blue as a peacock’s neck —Flannery O’Connor
- (Sky … ) blue as a staring Northern eye —Elizabeth Enright
- Blue as autumn mist —Thomas Hardy
- (Eyes as) blue as corn-flowers —Lawrence Durrell
- (Sea and sky are a matched set,) blue as delftware —T. Coraghessan Boyle
- (Eyes) blue as heaven —Lord Byron
Other famous poets to link heaven and the color blue include Christina Rossetti with “Saphires shining blue as heaven” and Percy Bysshe Shelley with “Blue as the overhanging heaven.” For everyday usage there’s “Blue as the sky.”
- Blue as hyacinths —Richard Ford
- Blue as melancholy —Anon
- (Sky) blue as the core of a match flame —George Garrett
- Blue as the decks of the sea —Dame Edith Sitwell
- Blue as the glimpses of sea beyond —John Greenleaf Whittier
- Blue as the nose that graduate drunkards wear —Don Marquis
- Blue as the sky —American colloquialism, attributed to New England
- Blue as with the cold —Israel Zangwill
- Blue like a corpse —Nikolai V. Gogol
- Blue [of a repelling place] … like the color of the lips of an asthmatic plumber dying of lead poisoning who has put himself out of his misery with cyanide —Gerald Kersh
- Blue like the last thundercloud of a tempest dispersed —Alexander Pushkin
- Pale blues like old people’s eyes —Edna O’Brien
Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
blue
Past participle: blued
Gerund: blueing/bluing
| Imperative |
|---|
| blue |
| blue |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  blue - blue color or pigment; resembling the color of the clear sky in the daytime; "he had eyes of bright blue"powder blue - a pale blue color with grey in it steel blue - a greyish blue color Prussian blue - a dark greenish-blue color cobalt blue, greenish blue, peacock blue, aqua, aquamarine, turquoise - a shade of blue tinged with green purplish blue, royal blue - a shade of blue tinged with purple ultramarine - a vivid blue to purple-blue color |
| 2. | blue - blue clothing; "she was wearing blue" article of clothing, clothing, habiliment, wearable, vesture, wear - a covering designed to be worn on a person's body | |
| 3. | blue - any organization or party whose uniforms or badges are blue; "the Union army was a vast blue" organization, organisation - a group of people who work together Union Army - the northern army during the American Civil War | |
| 4. |  blue - the sky as viewed during daylight; "he shot an arrow into the blue"sky - the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth | |
| 5. | blue - used to whiten laundry or hair or give it a bluish tinge | |
| 6. |  blue - the sodium salt of amobarbital that is used as a barbiturate; used as a sedative and a hypnoticamobarbital - a barbiturate with sedative and hypnotic effects; used to relieve insomnia and as an anticonvulsant | |
| 7. | blue - any of numerous small butterflies of the family Lycaenidae lycaenid, lycaenid butterfly - any of various butterflies of the family Lycaenidae genus Lycaena, Lycaena - type genus of the Lycaenidae; small slender butterflies with upper surface of wings usually metallic blue or green or copper | |
| Verb | 1. | blue - turn blue |
| Adj. | 1. | blue - of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky; "October's bright blue weather"- Helen Hunt Jackson; "a blue flame"; "blue haze of tobacco smoke" chromatic - being or having or characterized by hue |
| 2. | blue - used to signify the Union forces in the American Civil War (who wore blue uniforms); "a ragged blue line" northern - in or characteristic of a region of the United States north of (approximately) the Mason-Dixon line; "Northern liberals"; "northern industry"; "northern cities" | |
| 3. | blue - filled with melancholy and despondency ; "gloomy at the thought of what he had to face"; "gloomy predictions"; "a gloomy silence"; "took a grim view of the economy"; "the darkening mood"; "lonely and blue in a strange city"; "depressed by the loss of his job"; "a dispirited and resigned expression on her face"; "downcast after his defeat"; "feeling discouraged and downhearted" down in the mouth, downhearted, low-spirited, gloomy, downcast, dispirited, depressed, grim, down, low dejected - affected or marked by low spirits; "is dejected but trying to look cheerful" | |
| 4. |  blue - characterized by profanity or cursing; "foul-mouthed and blasphemous"; "blue language"; "profane words"dirty - (of behavior or especially language) characterized by obscenity or indecency; "dirty words"; "a dirty old man"; "dirty books and movies"; "boys telling dirty jokes"; "has a dirty mouth" | |
| 5. | blue - suggestive of sexual impropriety; "a blue movie"; "blue jokes"; "he skips asterisks and gives you the gamy details"; "a juicy scandal"; "a naughty wink"; "naughty words"; "racy anecdotes"; "a risque story"; "spicy gossip" sexy - marked by or tending to arouse sexual desire or interest; "feeling sexy"; "sexy clothes"; "sexy poses"; "a sexy book"; "sexy jokes" | |
| 6. |  blue - belonging to or characteristic of the nobility or aristocracy; "an aristocratic family"; "aristocratic Bostonians"; "aristocratic government"; "a blue family"; "blue blood"; "the blue-blooded aristocracy"; "of gentle blood"; "patrician landholders of the American South"; "aristocratic bearing"; "aristocratic features"; "patrician tastes"noble - of or belonging to or constituting the hereditary aristocracy especially as derived from feudal times; "of noble birth" | |
| 7. | blue - morally rigorous and strict; "the puritan work ethic"; "puritanic distaste for alcohol"; "she was anything but puritanical in her behavior" nonindulgent, strict - characterized by strictness, severity, or restraint | |
| 8. | blue - causing dejection; "a blue day"; "the dark days of the war"; "a week of rainy depressing weather"; "a disconsolate winter landscape"; "the first dismal dispiriting days of November"; "a dark gloomy day"; "grim rainy weather" cheerless, depressing, uncheerful - causing sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy; "the economic outlook is depressing"; "something cheerless about the room"; "a moody and uncheerful person"; "an uncheerful place" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
blue
adjective
1. depressed, low, sad, unhappy, fed up, gloomy, dismal, melancholy, glum, dejected, despondent, downcast, down in the dumps (informal), down in the mouth, low-spirited, down-hearted There's no earthly reason for me to feel so blue.
depressed happy, optimistic, sunny, cheerful, jolly, merry, cheery, genial, elated, chirpy (informal), blithe
depressed happy, optimistic, sunny, cheerful, jolly, merry, cheery, genial, elated, chirpy (informal), blithe
plural noun
1. depression, gloom, melancholy, unhappiness, despondency, the hump (Brit. informal), dejection, moodiness, low spirits, the dumps (informal), doldrums, gloominess, glumness Interfering in-laws are the prime sources of the blues.
Related words
adjective cyanic
adjective cyanic
Shades of blue
aqua, aquamarine, azure, Cambridge blue, cerulean, clear blue, cobalt blue, Copenhagen blue, cyan, duck-egg blue, electric blue, gentian blue, heliotrope, indigo, lapis lazuli, midnight blue, navy blue, Nile blue, Oxford blue, peacock blue, periwinkle, perse, petrol blue, pewter, royal blue, sapphire, saxe blue, sky blue, steel blue, teal, turquoise, ultramarine, Wedgwood blueCollins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
blue
adjective1. In low spirits:
dejected, depressed, desolate, dispirited, down, downcast, downhearted, dull, dysphoric, gloomy, heavy-hearted, low, melancholic, melancholy, sad, spiritless, tristful, unhappy, wistful.
Idiom: down at the mouth.
2. Dark and depressing:
3. Tending to cause sadness or low spirits:
4. Bordering on indelicacy or impropriety:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
أَزْرَقأزْرَقالسَّماءُ أو البَحْراللون الأزرقحَزين، كَئيب
син
modrýmodřmodrá barvamodromodrojas
blådeprimereti dårligt humør
blublua
sinine
آبی
sininenalakuloinendemokraattinensini
नीलानीली
plavplava
kék
biru
blá málningblárblár liturdapurhimin-/hafblámi
ピンク青い
파란
caeruleus
bloga nuotaikabrėžinysdepresijafizinio darbo darbininkaskaip perkūnas iš giedro dangaus
zilsdrūmsjūramateriāls zilā krāsānomākts
blauwblauwe
modrýbelasýdiaľkamodrá farba
modermodra
plavplavaплавплава
blå
สีฟ้า
نیلانیلى
buồnchánchán nảnthất vọngxanh da trời
blue
[bluː]A. ADJ (bluer (compar) (bluest (superl)))
1. → azul; [body, bruise] → amoratado
blue with cold → amoratado de frío
once in a blue moon → de Pascuas a Ramos
you can shout till you're blue in the face → puedes gritar hasta hartarte
to go like a blue streak (US) → ir como un rayo
to talk like a blue streak (US) → hablar muy deprisa
blue with cold → amoratado de frío
once in a blue moon → de Pascuas a Ramos
you can shout till you're blue in the face → puedes gritar hasta hartarte
to go like a blue streak (US) → ir como un rayo
to talk like a blue streak (US) → hablar muy deprisa
3. (= sad) → triste, deprimido
to feel blue → estar deprimido, estar tristón
to look blue → tener aspecto triste
to feel blue → estar deprimido, estar tristón
to look blue → tener aspecto triste
4. (Pol) → conservador
B. N
1. (= colour) → azul m
3. (Chem) → añil m
4. the blue (= sky) → el cielo; (= sea) → el mar
to come out of the blue [money, good news] → venir como cosa llovida del cielo, bajar del cielo; [bad news] → caer como una bomba
he said out of the blue → dijo de repente, dijo inesperadamente
to come out of the blue [money, good news] → venir como cosa llovida del cielo, bajar del cielo; [bad news] → caer como una bomba
he said out of the blue → dijo de repente, dijo inesperadamente
6. Dark/Light Blue (Brit) (Univ) → deportista mf representante de Oxford/Cambridge
C. VT
2. (Brit) (= squander) → despilfarrar
D. CPD blue baby N → niño/a m/f azul, niño/a m/f cianótico/a
blue beret N → casco m azul
blue blood N → sangre f azul
blue book N (US) (Scol) → cuaderno m de exámenes
blue cheese N → queso m de pasta verde
blue chips NPL = blue-chip securities
see blue-chip blue jeans NPL → tejanos mpl, vaqueros mpl
blue pencil N → lápiz m negro (en la censura)
see also blue-pencil Blue Peter N (Naut) → bandera f de salida
blue shark N → tiburón m azul
blue whale N → ballena f azul
blue whiting N → bacaladilla f
blue beret N → casco m azul
blue blood N → sangre f azul
blue book N (US) (Scol) → cuaderno m de exámenes
blue cheese N → queso m de pasta verde
blue chips NPL = blue-chip securities
see blue-chip blue jeans NPL → tejanos mpl, vaqueros mpl
blue pencil N → lápiz m negro (en la censura)
see also blue-pencil Blue Peter N (Naut) → bandera f de salida
blue shark N → tiburón m azul
blue whale N → ballena f azul
blue whiting N → bacaladilla f
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
blue
[ˈbluː]Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
blue
adj (+er)
→ blau; blue with cold → blau vor Kälte; until you’re blue in the face (inf) → bis zum Gehtnichtmehr (inf), → bis zum Erbrechen (inf); once in a blue moon → alle Jubeljahre (einmal); like a blue streak (inf) → wie ein geölter Blitz (inf); into the wide or wild blue yonder → weit weit weg
(inf: = miserable) → melancholisch, trübsinnig; to feel blue → den Moralischen haben (inf); to look blue → traurig aussehen
(inf: = obscene) language → derb, nicht salonfähig; joke → schlüpfrig; film → Porno-, Sex-; the air was blue (with oaths) → da habe ich/hat er etc vielleicht geflucht (inf)
(Pol) → konservativ
n
(Pol) → Konservative(r) mf
(inf) the blues pl (= depression) → der Moralische (inf); to have the blues → den Moralischen haben (inf)
(Univ Sport) Student von Oxford oder Cambridge, der bei Wettkämpfen seine Universität vertritt (oder vertreten hat); (= colours) blaue Mütze, Symbol dafür, dass man seine Universität in Wettkämpfen vertreten hat
blue
:blue baby
n → Baby nt → mit angeborenem Herzfehler
Bluebeard
n → Ritter Blaubart m
bluebell
blue beret
n → Blauhelm m
blueberry
n → Blau- or Heidelbeere f
bluebird
n → Rotkehlhüttensänger m
blue-blooded
adj → blaublütig
bluebook
bluebottle
n → Schmeißfliege f
blue cheese
n → Blauschimmelkäse m
blue-chip
adj → erstklassig; shares also → Blue-Chip-; investment → sicher; blue company → Blue-Chip-Firma f, seriöses Unternehmen mit guter Finanzlage
blue-collar
blue helmet
n → Blauhelm m
blue jeans
pl → Bluejeans pl
blue line
n (US: Typ) → Blaupause f
blue
:blue-pencil
blueprint
bluestocking
n (fig) → Blaustrumpf m
blue
:bluetit
n → Blaumeise f
blue-water
blue whale
n → Blauwal m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
blue
[bluː]1. adj
a. (light blue) → azzurro/a, celeste; (darker) → blu inv
bright blue → bluette inv
blue with cold → livido/a dal freddo
once in a blue moon → a ogni morte di papa
you can talk till you're blue in the face → puoi parlare fino a domani
to be in a blue funk (old) → avere una fifa nera
bright blue → bluette inv
blue with cold → livido/a dal freddo
once in a blue moon → a ogni morte di papa
you can talk till you're blue in the face → puoi parlare fino a domani
to be in a blue funk (old) → avere una fifa nera
b. (obscene, film, book) → porno inv; (joke) → sporco/a, sconcio/a
2. n (colour) (see adj) → azzurro, celeste m, blu m inv
the blue (sky) → l'azzurro
out of the blue (fig) → all'improvviso
the blue (sky) → l'azzurro
out of the blue (fig) → all'improvviso
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
blue
(bluː) adjective1. of the colour of a cloudless sky. blue paint; Her eyes are blue.
2. sad or depressed. I'm feeling blue today.
noun1. the colour of a cloudless sky. That is a beautiful blue.
2. a blue paint, material etc. We'll have to get some more blue.
3. the sky or the sea. The balloon floated off into the blue.
ˈblueness nounˈbluish adjective
quite blue; close to blue. a bluish green.
ˈbluebottle noun a kind of large house-fly with a blue abdomen.
ˈbluecollar adjective (of workers) wearing overalls and working in factories etc. Blue collar workers are demanding the same pay as office staff.
ˈblueprint noun a detailed photographic plan of work to be carried out. the blueprints for a new aircraft.
once in a blue moon very seldom. He visits his mother once in a blue moon.
out of the blue without warning. He arrived out of the blue, without phoning first.
the blues low spirits; depression. He's got the blues today but he's usually cheerful.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
blue
→ أَزْرَق modrý blå blau γαλάζιος azul sininen bleu plav blu 青い 파란 blauw blå niebieski azul голубой blå สีฟ้า mavi xanh da trời 蓝色的Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
blue
n. color azul;
a. triste, malancólico-a;
___ baby syndrome → cianosis congénita, pop. mal azul.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
blue
adj azul; (fam, sad) triste; the blues (fam) melancolía, tristezaEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.