blue
/blu/adjective, noun, verb
blue is spelled B-L-U-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 135 times per million words in written English, the 770th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, blue means “Of a blue hue” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in blue?
| Letters | 4: B-L-U-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 135 times per million words; the 770th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is blue?
Blue appears 135 times per million words in written English, the 770th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce blue?
- UK /bluː/
- British /blʉw/
- US /blu/
Blue has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-blue.ogg, En-us-blue.ogg, EN-AU_ck1_blue.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with blue?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as blue from its last stressed vowel (/u/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: lube.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of blue
- bluer comparative
- more blue comparative
- bluest superlative
- most blue superlative
- blues plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- blueing participle, present
- bluing participle, present
- blued participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does blue mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of a blue hue.
the deep blue sea
- 2
informalDepressed, melancholic, sad.
- 3
Having a bluish or purplish shade to the skin due to a lack of oxygen to the normally deep-red red blood cells; cyanotic.
My hands were blue with cold.
- 4
Pale, without redness or glare.
The candle burns blue.
- 5
USSupportive of, run by (a member of), pertaining to, or dominated by the Democratic Party.
I live in a blue constituency. Congress turned blue in the mid-term elections.
- 6
Supportive of or related to the Liberal Party.
Illawarra turns blue in Liberal washout
- 7
UKSupportive of or related to the Conservative Party.
- 8
Of, dominated by, or shifted toward the higher-frequency, or "bluer", end of the electromagnetic spectrum.
noun
- 1
The colour of the clear sky or the deep sea; the colour midway between green and violet in the visible spectrum and one of the primary additive colours.
- 2
Anything coloured blue, especially to distinguish it from similar objects differing only in colour.
I don't like red Smarties. Have you got a blue?
- 3
A blue dye or pigment.
- 4
Blue clothing.
The boys in blue marched to the pipers.
- 5
A blue uniform. See blues.
- 6
A member of a sports team that wears blue colours; (in the plural) a nickname for the team as a whole. See also blues.
Come on, you blues!
- 7
slangAn umpire, in reference to the typical dark-blue colour of the umpire's uniform. Sometimes perceived by umpires as derogatory when used by players or coaches while disputing a call.
He was safe! Terrible call, blue!
- 8
Sporting colours awarded by a university or other institution for sporting achievement, such as representing one's university, especially and originally at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England. See also full blue, half blue.
He excelled at rowing and received a blue in the sport at Oxford.
verb
- 1
To make or become blue; to turn blue.
- 2
To treat the surface of steel so that it is passivated chemically and becomes more resistant to rust.
- 3
To brighten by treating with blue (laundry aid).
- 4
AustraliaslangTo fight, brawl, or argue.
- 5
datedslangTo spend (money) extravagantly; to blow.
noun
- 1
A letterman at Oxford or Cambridge.
- 2
A member of the Royal Horse Guards (which merged with the 1st Dragoons in 1969)
- 3
Synonym of British Blue (“a breed of cat”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate blue?
Wiktionary records 3 abbreviations of blue: BLU, RGB, blu.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Blue in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bleu , déprimé , démocrate , bleuter , bleuir , azurer |
| German | blau, blaaw , depressiv, niedergeschlagen, schwermütig, traurig |
| Portuguese | azul, azulado, cerúleo , deprimido, triste, melancólico |
| Spanish | azul, celeste, blao , triste, melancólico, deprimido |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does blue come from?
From Middle English blew, blewe, from Anglo-Norman blew, from Middle French bleu, from Old French blöe, bleve, blef (“blue”), from Frankish *blāu (“blue”) (perhaps through a Late Latin blāvus, blāvius (“blue”) attested from Isidore of Seville), from Proto-Germanic *blēwaz (“blue, dark blue”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlēw- (“yellow, blond, grey”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).