red

[ red ]

/ rɛd /

noun

any of various colors resembling the color of blood; the primary color at one extreme end of the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 610 and 780 nanometers.

something red.

(often initial capital letter) Older Slang: Usually Disparaging. a radical leftist in politics, especially a Communist.

Informal. red light(def 1).

Informal. red wine: a glass of red.

Also called red devil, red bird. Slang. a capsule of the drug secobarbital, usually red in color.

adjective, red·der, red·dest.

of the color red.

having distinctive areas or markings of red: a red robin.

of or indicating a state of financial loss or indebtedness: the red column in the ledger.

Older Slang: Usually Disparaging.

radically left politically.
(often initial capital letter) communist: Red China.

Older Use: Disparaging and Offensive. relating to, noting, or characteristic of North American Indian peoples.

Idioms for red

in the red, operating at a loss or being in debt (opposed to in the black): The newspaper strike put many businesses in the red.

paint the town red. paint(def 16).

see red, Informal. to become very angry; become enraged: Snobs make her see red.

Origin of red

before 900; Middle English red, Old English rēad; cognate with German rot, Dutch rood, Old Norse raudhr, Latin rūfus, ruber, Greek erythrós; see rubella, rufescent, erythro-

OTHER WORDS FROM red

red·ly, adverb

Words nearby red

recusancy, recusant, recuse, recycle, recycling, red, red admiral, red alder, red alert, red alga, red algae

Definition for red (2 of 9)

red ²

[ red ]

/ rɛd /

verb (used with object), red, red·ding.

redd¹.

Definition for red (3 of 9)

Red

[ red ]

/ rɛd /

noun

a male or female given name.

a nickname typically given to someone with red hair.

Definition for red (4 of 9)

redd ¹

or red

[ red ]

/ rɛd /

verb (used with object), redd or redd·ed, redd·ing. Northern and Midland U.S.

to put in order; tidy: to redd a room for company.

to clear: to redd the way.

Origin of redd

before 900; apparently conflation of 2 words: Middle English (Scots) reden to clear, clean up (a space, land), Old English gerǣdan to put in order (cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German rêden, reiden; akin to ready); and Middle English (Scots) redden to rid, free, clear, Old English hreddan to save, deliver, rescue (cognate with Old Frisian hredda, German retten)

Definition for red (5 of 9)

red-

variant of re- before a vowel or h in some words: redintegrate.

Definition for red (6 of 9)

-red

a native English suffix, denoting condition, formerly used in the formation of nouns: hatred; kindred.

Origin of -red

Middle English -rede, Old English -rǣden

Definition for red (7 of 9)

Grange

[ greynj ]

/ greɪndʒ /

noun

HaroldRedthe Galloping Ghost,1903–1991, U.S. football player.

Definition for red (8 of 9)

Auerbach

[ ou-er-bahk, our-; for 2 also German ou-uh r-bahkh ]

/ ˈaʊ ərˌbɑk, ˈaʊr-; for 2 also German ˈaʊ ərˌbɑx /

noun

ArnoldRed,1917–2006, U.S. basketball coach and manager.

Ber·thold

[ber-tohlt] /ˈbɛr toʊlt/,1812–82, German novelist.

Definition for red (9 of 9)

Skelton

[ skel-tn ]

/ ˈskɛl tn /

noun

John,c1460–1529, English poet.

Richard BernardRed,1913–97, U.S. actor and comedian.

Example sentences from the Web for red

Former Red Sox star Curt Schilling says his politics are keeping him out of Cooperstown.

Conservative Curt Says His Politics, Not His Pitching, Kept Him Out of the Hall of Fame |Ben Jacobs |January 9, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
His books include Render unto Rome and a novel about Louisiana politics, Last of the Red Hot Poppas.

The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise |Jason Berry |January 3, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
In 1957, the islands came under repeated shelling by Mainland--or as it was then called, “Red”-- China.

The World’s Toughest Political Quiz |Jeff Greenfield |December 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
It all began, the consensus seems to be, with the red jungle fowl.

The History of the Chicken: How This Humble Bird Saved Humanity |William O’Connor |December 27, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

In their midst stands a soldier with the Lebanese armed forces in a red beret, sporting an assault rifle and an unblinking stare.

A Sunni-Shia Love Story Imperiled by al Qaeda |Ruth Michaelson |December 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Seeing them, Avdotya could not restrain her tears; they simply spurted from her red and swollen eyes.

Knock, Knock, Knock and Other Stories |Ivan Turgenev
The dinner went on through its courses, and by degrees the red wine flew from the glasses to the faces.

Dorothy and other Italian Stories |Constance Fenimore Woolson
It is produced by combining a blue or purple with red when a compound colour is used.

Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I |Arnold Cooley
But the red curtain was drawn aside once again, and an entrancing spectacle brought all the little folks to their feet.

A Love Episode |Emile Zola
Her lips were red and sweetly curved, her cheek was smooth and firm as so much brown velvet.

Spacehounds of IPC |Edward Elmer Smith

British Dictionary definitions for red (1 of 9)

red ¹

/ (rɛd) /

noun

any of a group of colours, such as that of a ripe tomato or fresh blood, that lie at one end of the visible spectrum, next to orange, and are perceived by the eye when light in the approximate wavelength range 740–620 nanometres falls on the retina. Red is the complementary colour of cyan and forms a set of primary colours with blue and green Related adjectives: rubicund, ruddy

a pigment or dye of or producing these colours

red cloth or clothing dressed in red

a red ball in snooker, billiards, etc

(in roulette and other gambling games) one of two colours on which players may place even bets, the other being black

Also called: inner archery a red ring on a target, between the blue and the gold, scoring seven points

in the red informal in debit; owing money

see red informal to become very angry

adjective redder or reddest

of the colour red

reddish in colour or having parts or marks that are reddish red hair; red deer

having the face temporarily suffused with blood, being a sign of anger, shame, etc

(of the complexion) rosy; florid

(of the eyes) bloodshot

(of the hands) stained with blood, as after committing murder

bloody or violent red revolution

(of wine) made from black grapes and coloured by their skins

denoting the highest degree of urgency in an emergency; used by the police and the army and informally (esp in the phrase red alert)

US relating to, supporting, or representing the Republican Party Compare blue (def. 24)

verb reds, redding or redded

another word for redden

Derived forms of red

redly, adverb redness, noun

Word Origin for red

Old English rēad; compare Old High German rōt, Gothic rauths, Latin ruber, Greek eruthros, Sanskrit rohita

British Dictionary definitions for red (2 of 9)

red ²

/ (rɛd) /

verb reds, redding, red or redded

(tr) a variant spelling of redd 1

British Dictionary definitions for red (3 of 9)

Red

/ (rɛd) informal /

adjective

Communist, Socialist, or Soviet

radical, leftist, or revolutionary

noun

a member or supporter of a Communist or Socialist Party or a national of a state having such a government, esp the former Soviet Union

a radical, leftist, or revolutionary

Word Origin for Red

C19: from the colour chosen to symbolize revolutionary socialism

British Dictionary definitions for red (4 of 9)

Auerbach

/ (ˈaʊəˌbɑːk) /

noun

Frank (Helmuth). born 1931, British painter, born in Germany, noted esp for his use of impasto

British Dictionary definitions for red (5 of 9)

grange

/ (ɡreɪndʒ) /

noun

mainly British a farm, esp a farmhouse or country house with its various outbuildings

history an outlying farmhouse in which a religious establishment or feudal lord stored crops and tithes in kind

archaic a granary or barn

Word Origin for grange

C13: from Anglo-French graunge, from Medieval Latin grānica, from Latin grānum grain

British Dictionary definitions for red (6 of 9)

Grange

/ (ɡreɪndʒ) /

noun (in the US)

the Grange an association of farmers that strongly influenced state legislatures in the late 19th century

a lodge of this association

British Dictionary definitions for red (7 of 9)

Skelton

/ (ˈskɛltən) /

noun

John. ?1460–1529, English poet celebrated for his short rhyming lines using the rhythms of colloquial speech

Derived forms of Skelton

Skeltonic, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for red (8 of 9)

redd ¹

red

Scot and Northern English dialect

verb redds, redding, redd or redded

(tr often foll by up) to bring order to; tidy (up)

noun

the act or an instance of redding

Derived forms of redd

redder, noun

Word Origin for redd

C15 redden to clear, perhaps a variant of rid

British Dictionary definitions for red (9 of 9)

redd ²

/ (rɛd) /

noun

a hollow in sand or gravel on a river bed, scooped out as a spawning place by salmon, trout, or other fish

Word Origin for redd

C17 (originally: spawn): of obscure origin

Idioms and Phrases with red

red

In addition to the idioms beginning with red

red carpet
red cent
red herring
red in the face, be
red tape

also see:

catch red-handed
in the red
not worth a dime (red cent)
paint the town red
see red

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

red

noun

adjective, red·der, red·dest.

Idioms for red

Origin of red

OTHER WORDS FROM red

Words nearby red

Definition for red (2 of 9)

verb (used with object), red, red·ding.

Definition for red (3 of 9)

noun

Definition for red (4 of 9)

or red

verb (used with object), redd or redd·ed, redd·ing. Northern and Midland U.S.

Origin of redd

Definition for red (5 of 9)

Definition for red (6 of 9)

Origin of -red

Definition for red (7 of 9)

noun

Definition for red (8 of 9)

noun

Definition for red (9 of 9)

noun

Words related to red

Example sentences from the Web for red

British Dictionary definitions for red (1 of 9)

noun

adjective redder or reddest

verb reds, redding or redded

Derived forms of red

Word Origin for red

British Dictionary definitions for red (2 of 9)

verb reds, redding, red or redded

British Dictionary definitions for red (3 of 9)

adjective

noun

Word Origin for Red

British Dictionary definitions for red (4 of 9)

noun

British Dictionary definitions for red (5 of 9)

noun

Word Origin for grange

British Dictionary definitions for red (6 of 9)

noun (in the US)

British Dictionary definitions for red (7 of 9)

noun

Derived forms of Skelton

British Dictionary definitions for red (8 of 9)

red

verb redds, redding, redd or redded

noun

Derived forms of redd

Word Origin for redd

British Dictionary definitions for red (9 of 9)

noun

Word Origin for redd

Idioms and Phrases with red