bluer; bluest
1
: of the color whose hue is that of the clear sky : of the color blue (see blue entry 2 sense 1)
a blue jacket
her bright blue eyes
The house is blue with white shutters.
2
a
: bluish
the blue haze of tobacco smoke
b
: discolored by or as if by bruising
blue with cold
c
: bluish gray
a blue cat
3
a
: low in spirits : melancholy
has been feeling blue
b
: marked by low spirits : depressing
a blue funk
things looked blue
4
: wearing blue
the blue team
5
of a woman
: learned, intellectual
… the ladies were very blue and well-informed …—
W. M. Thackeray
W. M. Thackeray6
: puritanical
… a blue Sunday city …—James Street
James Street8
music
: of, relating to, or used in blues (see blues sense 3)
a blue song
9
US politics
: tending to support Democratic candidates or policies
As has become increasingly clear over the past few general elections, with their red states and blue states, an American Presidential campaign is no longer truly national.—Hendrik Hertzberg
compare purple sense 3, red sense 5
Hendrik Hertzberg
bluely
adverb
blueness
noun
plural blues
1
: a color whose hue is that of the clear sky or that of the portion of the color spectrum lying between green and violet
Blue is his favorite color.
shades of blue
2
a
: a pigment or dye that colors blue
b
: bluing
adding blue to the laundry
3
a
: blue clothing or cloth
will be wearing blue
b
blues plural
: a blue costume or uniform
wearing their dress blues
4
a
: a Union soldier in the American Civil War
b
often capitalized
: the Union army
the Blue versus the Gray
6
: a blue object
the horse that won the blue [=blue ribbon]
… is bartered … like a stack of blues [=blue chips] in a Reno casino.—John Lewis
John Lewis7
: bluestocking
praised the writings of her fellow blues
8
biology
: any of numerous small chiefly blue butterflies (family Lycaenidae)
9
: bluefish
fishing for blues
10
11
physics
: one of the three colors (see color entry 1 sense 15) that quarks have in the theory of quantum chromodynamics
One cannot have a single quark on its own because it would have a color (red, green, or blue). Instead, a red quark has to be joined to a green and a blue quark by a "string" of gluons (red + green + blue = white). Such a triplet constitutes a proton or a neutron.—Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking
blued; blueing or bluing; blues
: to make (something) blue in color: such as
a
: to dye, tint, or paint (something) blue
Last, the generation of the grandmothers, in immaculately blued hair …—John Updike
John UpdikeTattoos blued his upper arms.—Jerry Spinelli
Jerry Spinelli
b
: to heat (iron or steel) to about 550 to 600°F (288 to 316°C) so that it acquires a bluish protective coating
the blued barrel of the gun
Between banks shrouded with snow, the river gleamed darkly, like blued steel with gold chips of sunlight dancing on each riffle.—Pete Bodo
Pete Bodo
: to turn blue
their blueing fingers
Phrases
blue in the face
: extremely exasperated
argued until he was blue in the face
: without advance notice : unexpectedly
the job offer came out of the blue
informal
: to curse angrily
He sliced the air with his fists and blued the air with his mouth.—Steve Kelley
Steve KelleyI have been stealing my father's copy (of Massachusetts Wildlife) for a long time, but last week he found an issue on my desk and blued the air a bit.—Stephen King Donovan
Stephen King Donovan
Synonyms
Examples of blue in a Sentence
Adjective
was shocked at the blue banter on that satellite-radio talk show
a cold, dreary day always leaves me blue
Noun
Her favorite color is blue.
a mixture of blues and greens
They sailed off into the blue.
Recent Examples on the WebGustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024
These cloths come in your choice of blue or yellow and in five different pack sizes: three, 12, 24, 36, and 60.
—Jenna Clark, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Apr. 2024
Plus, the red or blue options are Fourth of July-coded.
—Alyssa Grabinski, Peoplemag, 7 Apr. 2024
Netanyahu could say the sky is blue and a thousand fact-checkers would scrub his claim for signs of misinformation.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 6 Apr. 2024
It’s-still-Marlins Park-to-me had the requisite Opening Day trappings of red, white and blue bunting, a military jets flyover and the ceremonial introductions of the full rosters of Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates along the baselines.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2024
Each side is decorated with a retro, geometric arch pattern that comes in four cheerful colors to accent your kitchen: yellow, green, blue, and pink.
—Lauren Taylor, Southern Living, 28 Mar. 2024
In person, there is so much green and blue, gold and brown—the colors of plants, water, people.
—Imani Perry, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2024
So far, the postal service has replaced more than 15,000 blue boxes in key areas with a new high-security blue collection box.
—Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 28 Mar. 2024
Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 9 Apr. 2024
Anybody in our profession looks at the University of Kentucky in basketball and says that is the bluest of blue.
—Wayne Sterling, CNN, 9 Apr. 2024
Her post included a few cute family portraits, including one where the family got in the holiday spirit by donning bright greens, blues, yellows and whites for the occasion.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024
As a result, reds tend to look darker while blues and greens pop more in low light.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 8 Apr. 2024
The Black Keys are renowned for their bracing garage rock, an elastic intertwining of blues and fuzzy guitars that has garnered them critical acclaim and a string of hits.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2024
The billboards feature a shade of blue that is now the profile photo and backdrop of her social media accounts.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 2 Apr. 2024
Fox's new hair is not only much shorter—her just-past-the-shoulder-length shag chopped into a sleek, blunt bob—but dyed an ultra-icy shade of bright electric blue too.
—Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 2 Apr. 2024
Surely, blues, soul, R&B, and gospel music pervaded my life growing up in the urban landscape of a very Black Memphis.
—Kimberly Bryant, Essence, 29 Mar. 2024
Adjective
Here, the retiree shopped alongside the hipster, and the only colors that mattered were the bright blue and pink on the marquee of each store.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024
These cloths come in your choice of blue or yellow and in five different pack sizes: three, 12, 24, 36, and 60.
—Jenna Clark, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Apr. 2024
Plus, the red or blue options are Fourth of July-coded.
—Alyssa Grabinski, Peoplemag, 7 Apr. 2024
Netanyahu could say the sky is blue and a thousand fact-checkers would scrub his claim for signs of misinformation.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 6 Apr. 2024
It’s-still-Marlins Park-to-me had the requisite Opening Day trappings of red, white and blue bunting, a military jets flyover and the ceremonial introductions of the full rosters of Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates along the baselines.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2024
Each side is decorated with a retro, geometric arch pattern that comes in four cheerful colors to accent your kitchen: yellow, green, blue, and pink.
—Lauren Taylor, Southern Living, 28 Mar. 2024
In person, there is so much green and blue, gold and brown—the colors of plants, water, people.
—Imani Perry, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2024
So far, the postal service has replaced more than 15,000 blue boxes in key areas with a new high-security blue collection box.
—Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 28 Mar. 2024
Noun
The partial solar eclipse turned the sky from clear blue to cloudy gray over three hours on Monday.
—Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 9 Apr. 2024
Anybody in our profession looks at the University of Kentucky in basketball and says that is the bluest of blue.
—Wayne Sterling, CNN, 9 Apr. 2024
Her post included a few cute family portraits, including one where the family got in the holiday spirit by donning bright greens, blues, yellows and whites for the occasion.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024
As a result, reds tend to look darker while blues and greens pop more in low light.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 8 Apr. 2024
The Black Keys are renowned for their bracing garage rock, an elastic intertwining of blues and fuzzy guitars that has garnered them critical acclaim and a string of hits.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2024
The billboards feature a shade of blue that is now the profile photo and backdrop of her social media accounts.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 2 Apr. 2024
Fox's new hair is not only much shorter—her just-past-the-shoulder-length shag chopped into a sleek, blunt bob—but dyed an ultra-icy shade of bright electric blue too.
—Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 2 Apr. 2024
Surely, blues, soul, R&B, and gospel music pervaded my life growing up in the urban landscape of a very Black Memphis.
—Kimberly Bryant, Essence, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'blue.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective, Noun, and Verb
Middle English, from Anglo-French blef, blew, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German blāo blue; akin to Latin flavus yellow
First Known Use
Adjective
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1606, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Time Traveler
The first known use of blue was
in the 13th century
Phrases Containing blue
Dictionary Entries Near blue
Cite this Entry
“Blue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blue. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
blue
2 of 3 noun1
: the color of the clear daytime sky or of the colors of light between green and violet
2
: blue clothing or cloth
3
a
b
blue
3 of 3 verb
blued; blueing or bluing
: to make or turn blue
Medical Definition
blue
2 of 2 noun1
: a color whose hue is that of the clear sky or that of the portion of the color spectrum lying between green and violet
2
: a pigment or dye that colors blue see prussian blue
More from Merriam-Webster on blue
Nglish: Translation of blue for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of blue for Arabic Speakers
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