blue
blue Lexical Profile
blue Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Of a color intermediate between green and violet, as of the clear daytime sky or the deep sea.
"She wore a bright blue dress to the summer wedding."
Melancholy, sad, or depressed in spirits.
"He has been feeling a bit blue ever since his best friend moved away."
American Politically supporting or associated with the US Democratic Party.
"Demographic shifts over the past decade have turned the formerly swing district into a reliably blue county."
Having a bluish or livid discoloration of the skin due to cold, contusion, or lack of oxygen.
"The swimmers' lips turned blue after an hour in the chilly ocean water."
Indecent, bawdy, or profane in content, especially regarding comedy or entertainment.
"The late-night comedian was known for his blue humor and salty language."
• noun
The primary color between green and violet in the visible spectrum, or any pigment or dye yielding this hue.
"The artist mixed ultramarine and white to create a soft pastel blue for the background."
The clear sky or the open sea, viewed poetically or figuratively as an expanse of color.
"The hawk soared high into the cloudless blue before diving toward the valley."
Blue clothing or an official blue uniform worn by a member of a service or profession (often used in the plural).
"The sailors looked sharp in their dress blues during the fleet inspection."
Any of various small, slender butterflies of the family Lycaenidae, specifically the subfamily Polyommatinae, native to temperate and tropical habitats worldwide and characterized by iridescent blue wings in the males.
"A common blue fluttered delicately across the chalk grassland and settled on a clover blossom."
• verb
To make or become blue in color, or to treat fabric with bluing during laundering to counteract yellowing.
"In the nineteenth century, laundresses routinely blued white linens to keep them looking bright and fresh."
To treat the surface of steel with heat or chemicals so as to form a protective bluish-black oxide coating against rust.
"The craftsman carefully blued the steel watch hands over a small alcohol lamp."
• Rhymes for blue
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English bleu, borrowed from Old French blo ('pale, wan, livid, or blue'), which came from Frankish *blāo and Proto-Germanic *blēwaz, ultimately tracing back to the Proto-Indo-European root *bhel- ('to shine, flash, or burn').