1. A type of folksong that originated among Black Americans at the beginning of the 20th century; has a melancholy sound from repeated use of blue notes
   "The guitarist bent the strings to achieve that classic blues sound"
    
2. A state of depression
   "he had a bad case of the blues";
   - blue devils [archaic], megrims, vapors [US], vapours [Brit, Cdn]

1. Blue colour or pigment; resembling the colour of the clear sky in the daytime
   "he had eyes of bright blue";
   - blueness
    
2. Blue clothing
   "she was wearing blue"
    
3. The sky as viewed during daylight
   "he shot an arrow into the blue";
   - blue sky, blue air, wild blue yonder
    
4. Any organization or party whose uniforms or badges are blue
   "the Union army was a vast blue"
    
5. Used to whiten laundry, hair or give it a bluish tinge
   "She added a touch of blue to brighten her white sheets";
   - bluing, blueing
    
6. [Austral, NZ, informal] An embarrassing mistake
   "His mispronunciation of the guest's name was a terrible blue";
   - blunder, blooper [N. Amer, informal], bloomer [informal], bungle, pratfall [informal], foul-up [informal], flub [N. Amer, informal], botch, boner [N. Amer, informal], boo-boo [informal], boob [Brit, informal], goof [informal]
    
7. [Austral, NZ, informal] An angry dispute
   "they had a blue";
   - quarrel, wrangle, row[2], words, run-in [informal], dustup [informal], dust-up, bust-up [informal], barney [Brit, informal], slanging match [Brit, informal], ding-dong [Brit, informal]
    
8. The sodium salt of amobarbital that is used as a barbiturate; used as a sedative and a hypnotic
   "Blue was commonly prescribed as a sleeping aid in the 1950s"; "The doctor prescribed blue angel for his insomnia";
   - amobarbital sodium, blue angel, blue devil, Amytal
    
9. Any of numerous small butterflies of the family Lycaenidae
   "A small blue butterfly alighted on the lavender"
    
10. [Austral, NZ, informal] Someone who has red hair
    "The young blue stood out in the crowd with his bright red hair";
    - redhead, redheader, red-header, carrottop [informal], ginger [informal]

1. Turn blue
   "Her lips blued from the cold"

Type of: African-American music, amobarbital, article of clothing, black music, chromatic color [US], chromatic colour [Brit, Cdn], clothing, color [US], colour [Brit, Cdn], conflict, depression, difference, difference of opinion, discolor [US], discolour [Brit, Cdn], dispute, duds [informal], dye, dyestuff, error, fault, folk ballad, folk song, folksong, habiliment [archaic], individual, lycaenid, lycaenid butterfly, mistake, mortal, org [informal], organisation [Brit], organization, person, sky, somebody, someone, soul, spectral color [US], spectral colour [Brit, Cdn], threads [informal], togs [informal], vesture [archaic], wear, wearable

Part of: genus Lycaena, Lycaena

Encyclopedia: Blues, Rags and Stomps