ruby

noun ru·by \ ˈrü-bē \

|Updated on: 6 Aug 2018

Definition of ruby

plural rubies

1 a : a precious stone that is a red corundum

b : something (such as a watch bearing) made of ruby

2 a : the dark red color of the ruby

b : something resembling a ruby in color

See ruby defined for English-language learners

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Recent Examples of ruby from the Web

Moore and Trump lost an embarrassing race in a ruby-red state.

— aaron blake, Washington Post, "‘I don’t believe them’: Trump doubts sexual-abuse accusers and sides with an ally — again," 6 July 2018
Cherries This ruby red stone fruit actually comes in several varieties.

— NBC News, "8 summer superfoods to eat after a tough workout," 11 July 2018
Last month, the Taiwanese high jeweler won a Masterpiece award at the London fair of the same name for the Peony Brooch in titanium, gold, and yellow lacquer, which counts nearly 180 carats of rubies and close to six carats of diamonds.

— Vogue, "From Ana Khouri to Tasaki, A Survey of Couture Week’s Coolest Jewels," 9 July 2018
For rubies, the ideal composition includes significant traces of chromium but little or no iron.

— c. claiborne ray, New York Times, "From One Mineral, Brilliant Reds and Bright Blues," 22 June 2018
The sides of my white gold ring, like R2-D2, have etchings that mirror the droid's mechanical legs, and the top of the ring has a halo of sapphires around a diamond and a small ruby in the front that echoes R2-D2's blinking lights.

— vanessa armstrong, latimes.com, "How R2-D2 helped me find love," 25 May 2018
Despite the ruby red interior, the blood orange tastes just like a navel orange.

— heloise, Houston Chronicle, "Fluent in French cooking?," 3 July 2018
The multimillion dollar wedding made headlines — and so did the Duchess's $33,000 Burmese ruby ring.

— amanda garrity, Good Housekeeping, "How Sarah Ferguson Rebuilt Her Net Worth and Relationship With the Royal Family," 29 June 2018
This turns out to work in favor of species low on the food chain: adorning your scales with shades of ruby means donning a cloak of invisibility.

— katherine j. wu, Smithsonian, "Why Bioluminescence Evolved to Be Red Light, and Blue," 26 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ruby.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of ruby

Middle English, from Anglo-French rubi, rubin, from Medieval Latin rubinus, from Latin rubeus reddish; akin to Latin ruber red — more at red

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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ruby

adjective

Definition of ruby

: of the color ruby

Recent Examples of ruby from the Web

Small, ruby lacquered bullheads line a far wall and booths the color of red sangria adorned with nail-head trim fill the dining space.

— lindsey mcclave, The Courier-Journal, "Spanish flavors are bold (but imperfect) at this Louisville restaurant," 27 June 2018
Combine that with ruby-throated hummingbirds being extremely territorial.

— taylor piephoff, charlotteobserver, "Bird activity slows this time of year, but it’ll pick up soon," 27 June 2018
June and strawberries are intimately intertwined, and the first appearance of these ruby jewels at farm stands makes my heart leap.

— ashleigh spitza, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Keep it simple and seasonal in the kitchen during summer," 7 June 2018
The Deep Eddy Ruby Red Grapefruit vodka contains just four ingredients: water, distilled alcohol, ruby red grapefruit juice, and a little cane sugar.

— elva ramirez, charlotteobserver, "Flavored vodka is moving on from its whipped cream, PB&J past," 6 July 2018
Double fly nymph rigs have been very effective (my current favorite is a red fox squirrel nymph (#14) with a ruby midge (#18) suspended below it.

— tyler mahoney, kansascity, "Fishing report: Holiday week brings plenty of hits, some misses," 4 July 2018
Still, Jones' win in December was far from certain, given that Alabama was a ruby red state that hadn't elected a Democratic senator in 25 years.

— jessica estepa, USA TODAY, "Before Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, here are 5 of the biggest U.S. political upsets," 27 June 2018
Filling Vignoli’s central, shaded, cobblestone avenue were proud displays of each farm’s cherry crop, from pale pink to ruby red, sweet or less so, thin or thick skinned — mind-blowing to those used to only one supermarket variety.

— elizabeth marcus, BostonGlobe.com, "A family organized a whole trip around one meal in Modena, Italy. Was it worth it?," 21 May 2018
Double fly nymph rigs have been very effective (my current favorite is a red fox squirrel nymph (#14) with a ruby midge (#18) suspended below it.

— tyler mahoney special to the star, kansascity, "Fishing report: Prospects mixed on area lakes for week of June 20," 20 June 2018

First Known Use of ruby

15th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

RUBY Defined for English Language Learners

ruby

noun

Definition of ruby for English Language Learners

: a deep red stone that is used in jewelry
: a dark red color

RUBY Defined for Kids

ruby

noun ru·by \ ˈrü-bē \

Definition of ruby for Students

plural rubies

1 : a gemstone of a deep red color

2 : a deep purplish red

Learn More about ruby

See words that rhyme with ruby Spanish Central: Translation of ruby Nglish: Translation of ruby for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of ruby for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ruby

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ruby

Definition of ruby

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Origin and Etymology of ruby

ruby

Definition of ruby

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RUBY Defined for English Language Learners

ruby

Definition of ruby for English Language Learners

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ruby

Definition of ruby for Students

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ruby

Definition of ruby

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ruby

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RUBY Defined for English Language Learners

ruby

Definition of ruby for English Language Learners

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