blue
Pronunciation: (bl), [key]
— n., adj., v., blu•er, blu•est, blued, blu•ing blue•ing.
—n.
- 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.
- bluing.
- something having a blue color: Place the blue next to the red.
- a person who wears blue or is a member of a group characterized by some blue symbol: Tomorrow the blues will play the browns.
- (often cap.) a member of the Union army in the American Civil War or the army itself. Cf. gray (def. 13).
- bluestocking.
- See(def. 1).
- any of several blue-winged butterflies of the family Lycaenidae.
- blueline.
- They've vanished into the blue somewhere.
- the sky.
- the sea.
- the remote distance:They've vanished into the blue somewhere.
- suddenly and unexpectedly: The inheritance came out of the blue as a stroke of good fortune.
—adj.
- of the color of blue: a blue tie.
- (cap.) of or pertaining to the Union army in the American Civil War.
- (of the skin) discolored by cold, contusion, fear, or vascular collapse.
- depressed in spirits; dejected; melancholy: She felt blue about not being chosen for the team.
- holding or offering little hope; dismal; bleak: a blue outlook.
- characterized by or stemming from rigid morals or religion: statutes that were blue and unrealistic.
- marked by blasphemy: The air was blue with oaths.
- (of an animal's pelage) grayish-blue.
- indecent; somewhat obscene; risqué: a blue joke or film.
- exhausted and speechless, as from excessive anger, physical strain, etc.: I reminded him about it till I was blue in the face.
—v.t.
- to make blue; dye a blue color.
- to tinge with bluing: Don't blue your clothes till the second rinse.
—v.i.
- to become or turn blue.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.