blue
/bluː/ (bre, ipa) · /bluː/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈblü/ (ame, mw)
blue — adjective
1. showing the shade seen in a bright sky or open sea.
showing the shade seen in a bright sky or open sea.
Aiko bought a blue scarf at the night market in Taipei.
blue + clothing noun for colour
The lake looked blue under the bright morning sun.
After the wash, one white sock turned blue by mistake.
We painted the kitchen door blue before Grandmother arrived.
Small blue flowers grew beside the school fence in spring.
文法句型
blue + noun
be/look/turn blue
用法筆記
Use this sense for the colour of clothes, eyes, paint, water, and other visible things. Distinguish from sense 2, which is about mood, not colour.
常見錯誤
2. feeling unhappy and low, or showing that feeling.
feeling unhappy and low, or showing that feeling.
After the funeral, Yusuf looked blue during the train ride home.
look blue for visible sadness
Rainy Sundays always make Mira a little blue by evening.
make + person + blue
Even the band's bright songs sounded blue after the breakup.
Theo felt blue when his sister moved to another city.
文法句型
feel blue
look blue
make + person + blue
用法筆記
Usually used after verbs such as feel, look, or seem. Distinguish from sense 1, where blue describes actual colour.
常見錯誤
3. describing jokes, films, or talk about sex that many people find rude.
describing jokes, films, or talk about sex that many people find rude.
The comic was fired after telling blue jokes at dinner.
collocation: blue jokes
My aunt walked out when the film turned too blue.
Parents complained when the host filled breakfast radio with blue humour.
The teacher warned us that the play had blue language.
- clean
free from sexual or rude content
- family-friendly
suitable for children and general audiences
文法句型
blue joke
blue film
blue language
用法筆記
Most often appears before nouns such as joke, film, humour, or language. This use can sound old-fashioned in modern English.
常見錯誤
4. cooked only briefly, so the center stays dark red and barely warm.
cooked only briefly, so the center stays dark red and barely warm.
Rohan sent the steak back because it was still blue inside.
steak cooked blue
The chef serves lamb blue only if guests ask clearly.
At that steakhouse, you can order your rib-eye blue or rare.
Priya never orders meat blue because she likes it well done.
- well-done
cooked through with little or no red inside
文法句型
be cooked blue
order steak blue
用法筆記
Used mainly in restaurant or cooking contexts, especially with steak or other red meat. It describes meat that is even less cooked than rare.
常見錯誤
blue — noun
1. the colour seen in a clear sky or in clean sea water.
the colour seen in a clear sky or in clean sea water.
Her room is painted in a soft blue from floor to ceiling.
in + blue for colour choice
Bao chose dark blue for the team shirts this year.
The painter mixed blue with white to match the old wall.
Several blues filled the sunset photo over Kenting Beach.
文法句型
light/dark/pale blue
a blue
in blue
用法筆記
Use blue as an uncountable noun for the colour in general, and as a countable noun when talking about different shades.
常見錯誤
2. the sporting honour, or the student who receives it, at Oxford or Cambridge.
the sporting honour, or the student who receives it, at Oxford or Cambridge.
Leila became a Blue after rowing for Cambridge against Oxford.
become a Blue in university sport
Only two swimmers won their Blues last spring.
win a Blue / Blues
The college hall displays every Blue from the 1960s team.
His father was a rugby Blue at Oxford in 1988.
- varsity athlete
broader; not limited to Oxford or Cambridge and does not mean the title itself
- sporting honour
fits the award meaning, but not the person meaning
文法句型
be a Blue
become a Blue
win a Blue
用法筆記
Usually written with a capital B and used in British university sport. It can refer either to the title itself or to the athlete who has earned it.
3. a quarrel or angry disagreement with someone.
a quarrel or angry disagreement with someone.
Nadia had a blue with her brother over the rent money.
have a blue with + person
The neighbors are having another blue about the parking space.
After one blue at lunch, the two chefs stopped speaking.
We heard a loud blue in the flat upstairs.
- agreement
the opposite state of being on the same side
文法句型
have a blue with + person
用法筆記
Normally appears in the pattern have a blue with someone. It is informal British English and much less common than argument or row.
常見錯誤
blue — verb
1. to give something a blue colour by dyeing, painting, or another process.
to give something a blue colour by dyeing, painting, or another process.
The workers blued the cloth in a tank behind the shop.
blue + object = make blue
Sun and salt have blued the old sign by the beach.
The artist blued the paper lightly before drawing the hills.
Grandfather blued the fence to match the garden gate.
- bleach
remove or lighten colour instead of adding it
文法句型
blue + object
blue + object + with + dye/paint
用法筆記
The object is usually cloth, paper, metal, wood, or another surface that is being coloured. This verb is much less common than paint something blue or dye something blue.
2. to become blue in colour, often from cold, bruising, or too little air.
to become blue in colour, often from cold, bruising, or too little air.
Ravi's fingers blued quickly in the snow without gloves.
blue from cold
The baby's lips blued during the long coughing fit.
By dawn, skin around the bruise had blued noticeably.
Without fresh air, the miner's face began to blue.
- pink up
regain healthy colour after cold or illness
文法句型
blue from cold
begin to blue
blue around + body part
用法筆記
Usually used about lips, skin, fingers, or other body parts. It often suggests cold weather, bruising, or a breathing problem.