red
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: rĕd
ipa: /ɹɛd/
ipa: [ɻʷɛˑd̥]
homophone: read stripped-by-parse_pron_post_template_fn
rhymes: -ɛd
Forms: form: reds
Etymology: From Middle English red, from Old English rēad, from Proto-West Germanic *raud, from Proto-Germanic *raudaz from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rowdʰós, from the root *h₁rewdʰ-.
Cognates
See also West Frisian read, Low German root, rood, rot, rod, Dutch rood, German rot, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål rød, Norwegian Nynorsk raud; also Welsh rhudd, Latin ruber, rufus, Tocharian A rtär, Tocharian B ratre, Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός (eruthrós), Albanian pruth (“redhead”), Russian ру́дый (rúdyj) ("red", "redhaired"). Czech rudý, Lithuanian raúdas, Finnish rauta, Estonian raud, Serbo-Croatian riđ ("reddish", "red"), Avestan 𐬭𐬀𐬊𐬌𐬛𐬌𐬙𐬀 (raoidita), Sanskrit रुधिर (rudhirá, “red, bloody”).
Senses: examples: text: Red can be seen as hot or angry.
text: And although we’ve certainly seen a variety of blue shades — from periwinkle to cobalt and even Dean Cain’s indigo-washed costume from the 1990’s TV show “Lois & Clark” — Superman’s uniform is still instantly recognizable across generations. In fact, there is only one film — Zack Snyder’s 2013 “Man of Steel” — in which Superman does not wear his iconic red belted trunks.
ref: 2025 February 21, Leah Dolan, “How the Superman ‘S’ became fashion’s favorite logo”, in CNN:
text: Red No. 3, red No. 40, blue No. 2 and green No. 3 all have been linked with cancer or tumors in animals. Other sources say red No. 40 and yellow No. 5 and No. 6 contain or may be contaminated with known carcinogens.
ref: 2025 March 29, Kristen Rogers, “Over half of US states are trying to eliminate food dyes. Here’s what you can do now”, in CNN:
glosses: The colour of the setting sun, blood, and strawberries; the colour which is evoked by the longest visible wavelengths (between about 625–740 nm), and a primary additive colour.
coordinate_terms: pinko
glosses: A revolutionary socialist or (most commonly) a Communist; (usually capitalized) a Bolshevik, a supporter of the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War.
topics: ball-games
games
hobbies
lifestyle
snooker
sports
glosses: One of the 15 red balls used in snooker, distinguished from the colours.
examples: text: A bottle of red, a bottle of white / It all depends upon your appetite / I'll meet you any time you want / in our Italian restaurant.
ref: 1977 September, Billy Joel, “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant”, in The Stranger:
text: He produced a wine key from his jacket pocket and effortlessly removed the cork from the bottle of red.
ref: 2005, Jeffrey P. Landry, Temptation Mango:
text: 59 sneak in some red Smuggle a bottle of wine, two glasses, and a corkscrew into a long matinee. Red wine is rich in life-extending antioxidants, and the caper will add zest even to a bad movie.
ref: 2008 January–February, “70 Ways to Improve Every Day of the Week”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 1, →ISSN, page 135:
glosses: Red wine.
examples: text: American reds and doppelbocks are heavy lagers as well. It really comes down to how the beer was made. Beyond that, brewers are immensely creative and have developed styles of both ale and lager that run a wide range of attributes.
ref: 2012 June 5, Howard Stelzer, Beer Cocktails: 50 Superbly Crafted Cocktails that Liven Up Your Lagers and Ales, Harvard Common Press, →ISBN:
text: No other country has a brewing tradition as richly diverse as that of Belgium, with beers ranging from pleasant pale lagers to wild, winelike Flemish reds and lambics.
ref: 2016 April 1, Lonely Planet, Helena Smith, Andy Symington, Donna Wheeler, Lonely Planet Belgium & Luxembourg, Lonely Planet, →ISBN:
glosses: Any of several varieties of ale which are brewed with red or kilned malt, giving the beer a red colour.
glosses: A red variety of an animal, such as a red kangaroo or a red squirrel.
topics: biology
birdwatching
natural-sciences
ornithology
glosses: A redshank.
synonyms: redskin
glosses: An American Indian.
examples: text: What in the world ever became of sweet Jane? / She lost her sparkle, you know she isn't the same / Livin' on reds, vitamin C, and cocaine
ref: 1970, “Truckin'”, in American Beauty, performed by Grateful Dead:
text: The big market, these days, is in Downers. Reds and smack—Seconal and heroin—and a hellbroth of bad domestic grass sprayed with everything from arsenic to horse tranquillizers.
ref: 1971, Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Harper Perennial, published 2005, page 202:
text: “Whatchu got, man?” / “Reds, bennies, dexies, yellow jackets, demmies.” / “Yeah, demmies're good shit, man. I pay you. Fuck. I got money. I'm hurting inside. Got beat up. Where my money?”
ref: 1998, Jeffery Deaver, The Coffin Dancer, New York, NY: Pocket Books, published 2021, →ISBN, page 285:
synonyms: redbird
red devil
glosses: The drug secobarbital; a capsule of this drug.
examples: text: Stopping on the red, you're going on the green / Cause tonight will be like nothing you've ever seen / And you're barreling down the boulevard / You're looking for the heart of Saturday night
ref: 1974, Tom Waits, “(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night”, in The Heart of Saturday Night:
glosses: A red light (a traffic signal)
topics: beverages
food
lifestyle
glosses: Red lemonade
topics: natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
glosses: One of the three color charges for quarks.
examples: text: Houston visited a home in an early pioneer settlement where he was offered a bowl of red. Houston eagerly took his first large spoonful. His eyes watering, he spat out his bite […]
ref: 1982, The Rotarian, volume 140, number 1, page 39:
glosses: Chili con carne (usually in the phrase "bowl of red").
examples: text: The species Sciaenops ocellatus certainly isn’t lacking for nicknames.[…] Clear water also favors sightcasting. Against the dark background of marsh mud, a red will appear like a pumpkin — big, orange and round.
ref: 2013 November, Catch Cormier, “Sightcasting for redfish”, in Louisiana Sportsman:
glosses: The redfish or red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus, a fish with reddish fins and scales.
examples: text: I squeeze some red out over my chips and feel guilty. Nothing is as English as Heinz ketchup in the sauce game, except perhaps HP.
ref: 2016, Jon Bounds, Danny Smith, Pier Review: A Road Trip in Search of the Great British Seaside:
glosses: Tomato ketchup.
Synonyms: word: carmine
word: cinnabar
word: claret
word: crimson
word: rosé
word: scarlet
word: vermilion
Hypernyms: word: color
word: hue
word: pigment
Meronyms: word: burnt umber
word: burgundy
word: maroon
word: sienna
word: amber
word: ginger
word: mahogany
word: salmon
word: sanguine
word: cerise
word: coral
word: magenta
word: mauve
word: rose
Derived terms: sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: antired
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: beet red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: blood red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: brick red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: cherry red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: Chinese red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: chrome red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: cinchona red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: cinchonic red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: Congo red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: fire engine red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: flowerpot red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: Indian red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: in the red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: Panama Red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: Paris red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: phenol red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: Pompeian red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: postbox red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: sand red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: strawberry red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: Turkey red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: Tuscan red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: Venetian red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: wine red
sense: Terms derived from red (noun)
word: wormred
Related terms: word: reddish
word: orange
word: yellow
word: green
word: blue
word: violet
word: white