# blue

Pronunciation: say "BLOO" /bluː/

## Adjective

1. Having the color of the clear daytime sky or the deep open sea.
   - Simple: Having the color of a clear sky or the deep sea.
   - _She keeps her passport in a small blue folder by the front door._
   - _The water in the bay was so blue it looked almost unreal._
9. Feeling sad, low, or down in spirits. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Feeling sad or unhappy.
   - _He always gets blue when the long winter nights set in._
   - _Losing the match left the whole team feeling blue._
4. Supporting or controlled by the political party whose color is blue: in the US the Democratic Party, in the UK the Conservative Party, in Australia the Liberal Party.
   - Simple: Voting for or run by the party whose color is blue, such as Democrats in the US or Conservatives in the UK.
   - _The district has grown reliably blue over the past twenty years._
   - _Suburban counties that once leaned red are now solidly blue._
6. Having a bluish or purplish tint to the skin, from cold, poor circulation, or too little oxygen in the blood.
   - Simple: Having skin that looks blue or purple from cold or from not getting enough oxygen.
   - _The patient's face was blue by the time the ambulance arrived._
   - _Without enough oxygen, the climbers' lips slowly turned blue at altitude._
8. Of light or radiation, belonging to or shifted toward the higher-frequency end of the electromagnetic spectrum.
   - Simple: Of light, at or moving toward the higher-energy, bluer end of the spectrum.
   - _Hot, young stars give off mostly blue light, while cooler, older stars shine redder._
   - _Light from galaxies moving toward us is shifted to the bluer end of the spectrum._
13. Sexually explicit, obscene, or off-color, especially in humor or entertainment. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Rude or about sex in a way that can shock people.
   - _His late-night act leaned heavily on blue material._
   - _The station bleeped half his routine because it was too blue for daytime radio._
15. Of an animal, having a coat of fur in a slaty gray shade.
   - Simple: Having gray fur, used to describe some cats and dogs.
   - _The kitten's blue coat shimmered in the afternoon light._
   - _The breeder had two blue kittens left, both with soft, slate-gray fur._
17. Of meat, cooked very briefly so that it stays extra rare, nearly raw, and cool at the center.
   - Simple: Cooked for only a very short time, so the meat is still nearly raw and cool inside.
   - _She ordered her steak blue, seared outside and raw within._
   - _A blue steak spends only seconds on each side of the grill._

## Noun

2. The color of the clear sky or deep sea, lying between green and violet in the visible spectrum and counted among the primary colors of light.
   - Simple: The color of a clear sky or deep sea.
   - _She chose a deep blue for the bedroom walls._
   - _Blue dominates the upper half of the painting._
3. Whichever item is colored blue, named so to set it apart from otherwise identical things of a different color.
   - Simple: Whichever item is colored blue, used to tell it apart from others that are alike except for color.
   - _Of the two wires, always connect the blue to the left terminal._
   - _She reached for the blue, leaving the other crayons in the box._
5. A cheese ripened with mold that forms blue or green veins, giving it a sharp, salty flavor.
   - Simple: A type of cheese with blue or green lines in it and a strong taste.
   - _He paired a creamy blue with a glass of port._
   - _A wedge of pungent blue sat at the center of the cheese board._
7. A player on a sports team identified by blue colors; in the plural, a nickname for the entire team.
   - Simple: A player on a sports team that wears blue. People also call the whole team the blues.
   - _Not one Blue in the starting eleven had ever played in a cup final._
   - _Local fans have backed the blues through three relegations._
10. Clothing colored blue, especially a blue uniform such as that of the police or a navy (dressed in blue; the boys in blue).
   - Simple: Clothes that are blue, especially the blue uniform of police or sailors.
   - _The bride asked all her bridesmaids to wear blue._
   - _At the funeral he chose to wear blue instead of black._
12. A member of law enforcement, named for the traditional blue uniform. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A police officer.
14. A dye or pigment used to give something a blue color.
   - Simple: A dye or paint that colors things blue.
   - _A pinch of blue was stirred into the glaze before firing._
   - _Indigo is still the blue used to dye most denim._
16. (the blue, literary) The sky or the open sea, or a vast faraway space (vanished into the blue).
   - Simple: The sky, the sea, or somewhere far away, as in 'sailed off into the blue'.
   - _An eagle circled and then disappeared into the blue._
   - _Beyond the harbor wall, the ferry left the green shallows behind and pushed out into the open blue._
18. In British politics, a member or supporter of the Conservative Party, whose traditional color is blue. *(UK)*
   - Simple: In British politics, someone who supports or belongs to the Conservative Party.
   - _A true blue from the shires, he was horrified when his son joined the Labour Party._
   - _The blues held most of the rural constituencies across the county._
19. A dog or cat whose coat is a slaty gray shade.
   - Simple: A dog or cat that has a grayish coat.
   - _The breeder's prized blue took best in show._
   - _At the cat show, her favorite was a quiet blue with bright copper eyes._
20. Risqué or sexually explicit material, such as films, jokes, or pictures. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Sexual or rude material, such as films or jokes.
21. In snooker, one of the colored balls, worth five points when potted.
   - Simple: In the game of snooker, a colored ball worth five points.
   - _She lined up the blue from an awkward angle near the cushion._
   - _Potting the blue extended his break to forty-one._
22. Any of the small butterflies of the subfamily Polyommatinae, most of which have blue on their wings.
   - Simple: A small butterfly that often has blue on its wings.
   - _A blue fluttered across the meadow and settled on a thistle._
   - _Several blues gathered at the damp patch beside the stream._
23. An honor awarded by a university for sporting achievement, such as representing the university in competition, especially at Oxford and Cambridge.
   - Simple: An award given by a university to a student for playing top-level sport.
   - _She earned her blue for rowing in her final year._
   - _Winning a blue at Cambridge was the proudest moment of his student days._
24. A heated argument or a physical brawl between people. *(colloquial, Australia)*
   - Simple: A fight or noisy argument between people.
   - _The two brothers had a massive blue over the inheritance._
   - _A blue broke out at the pub after the final whistle._

## Verb

11. To make something blue, or to become blue in color.
   - Simple: To turn something blue, or to change to a blue color.
   - _Laundries once blued white linens to make them look brighter._
   - _Late in the evening, pipe smoke would blue the air of the dim little room._

## Other meanings

- (noun) In baseball, an umpire, named for the traditional dark-blue uniform; sometimes taken as insulting when used by players disputing a call.
- (adjective) Of a flame, burning with a pale, dim light rather than a bright red or yellow one.
- (adjective) In particle physics, carrying the blue color charge, one of three charge states of quarks.
- (adjective) Puritanical and joyless in matters of morality.
- (adjective) Learned and bookish, especially of a woman with intellectual interests.
- (adjective) Intoxicated from alcohol.
- (noun) Someone who has won a university sporting honor, especially by representing Oxford or Cambridge.
- (noun) A woman with strong intellectual or literary interests, especially in the 18th century.
- (noun) Short name for the bluefish, a predatory fish of warm coastal seas.
- (noun) A deep-blue liquid added to the wash to stop white fabrics turning yellow.
- (noun) Any of various methods of coating metal, especially steel, with a thin layer that guards against rust.
- (noun) A kind of firecracker, mainly in British use.
- (noun) In particle physics, one of the three color charges a quark can carry, the others being red and green.
- (verb) To coat steel with a thin oxide film, using heat or chemicals, so that it rusts less easily.
- (verb) To make white laundry look brighter by rinsing it with a blue dye.
- (verb) To quarrel or get into a fight.
- (verb) To squander money freely.

## Origin

From Middle English blewe, borrowed via Anglo-Norman blew and Middle French bleu from Old French, ultimately from Frankish *blāu and Proto-Germanic *blēwaz ('blue, dark blue'), going back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰlēw-. It is cognate with German blau, Dutch blauw, and the Scandinavian blå, and is a doublet of blow. The sense 'obscene, pornographic' apparently arose from the color, though theories about exactly how differ.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/blue (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).