/ red; NAmE / adjective , noun
■ adjective ( red·der , red·dest ) ( informal )
1.
having the colour of blood or fire :
a red car
The lights (= traffic lights) changed to red before I could get across.
2.
( of the eyes ) bloodshot (= with thin lines of blood in them) or surrounded by red or very pink skin :
Her eyes were red from crying.
3.
( of the face ) bright red or pink, especially because you are angry, embarrassed or ashamed :
He stammered something and went very red in the face.
( BrE )
She went red as a beetroot .
( NAmE )
She went red as a beet .
4.
( of hair or an animal's fur ) reddish-brown in colour :
a red-haired girl
red deer
—see also redhead
5.
( informal ) (sometimes disapproving , politics ) having very left-wing political opinions
—compare pink
► red·ness noun [ U , sing. ]:
You may notice redness and swelling after the injection.
•
IDIOMS
- red in tooth and claw
- a red rag to a bull
—more at paint verb
■ noun
1.
[ C , U ] the colour of blood or fire :
She often wears red.
the reds and browns of the woods in the fall (= of the leaves)
I've marked the corrections in red (= in red ink) .
The traffic lights were on red.
2.
[ U , C ] red wine :
Would you prefer red or white?
an Italian red
3.
[ C ] ( informal ) ( disapproving , politics ) a person with very left-wing political opinions
—compare pinko
•
IDIOMS
- be in the red
- see red
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English rēad , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch rood and German rot , from an Indo-European root shared by Latin rufus , ruber , Greek eruthros , and Sanskrit rudhira red.