/ bluː; NAmE / adjective , noun
■ adjective ( bluer , blu·est )
1.
having the colour of a clear sky or the sea / ocean on a clear day :
piercing blue eyes
a blue shirt
2.
( of a person or part of the body ) looking slightly blue in colour because the person is cold or cannot breathe easily :
Her hands were blue with cold.
3.
( informal ) sad
SYN depressed :
He'd been feeling blue all week.
4.
films / movies, jokes or stories that are blue are about sex :
a blue movie
—see also true-blue
► blue·ness noun [ U , sing. ]:
the blueness of the water
•
IDIOMS
- do sth till you are blue in the face
—more at black adjective , devil , once adverb , scream verb
■ noun
—see also blues
1.
[ C , U ] the colour of a clear sky or the sea / ocean on a clear day :
bright / dark / light / pale blue
The room was decorated in vibrant blues and yellows.
She was dressed in blue.
2.
[ C ] ( BrE ) a person who has played a particular sport for Oxford or Cambridge University; a title given to them
3.
[ C ] ( AustralE , NZE , informal ) a mistake
4.
[ C ] ( AustralE , NZE , informal ) a name for a person with red hair
5.
[ C ] ( AustralE , NZE , informal ) a fight
•
IDIOMS
- out of the blue
—more at bolt noun , boy noun
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old French bleu , ultimately of Germanic origin and related to Old English blǣwen blue and Old Norse blár dark blue.