—adj.
1 of or near the colour seen at the least-refracted end of the visible spectrum, of shades ranging from that of blood to pink or deep orange.
2 flushed in the face with shame, anger, etc.
3 (of the eyes) bloodshot or red-rimmed with weeping.
4 (of the hair) reddish-brown, orange, tawny.
5 involving or having to do with bloodshed, burning, violence, or revolution.
6 colloq. communist or socialist.
7 (Red) Russian, Soviet (the Red Army).
8 (of wine) made from dark grapes and coloured by their skins.
—n.
1 a red colour or pigment.
2 red clothes or material (dressed in red).
3 colloq. a communist or socialist.
4 a a red ball, piece, etc., in a game or sport. b the player using such pieces.
5 the debit side of an account (in the red).
6 a red light.
Phrases and idioms:
red admiral a butterfly, Vanessa atalanta, with red bands on each pair of wings. red bark a red kind of cinchona. red biddy colloq. a mixture of cheap wine and methylated spirits. red-blooded virile, vigorous. red-bloodedness vigour, spirit. red card Football a card shown by the referee to a player being sent off the field. red carpet privileged treatment of an eminent visitor. red cedar an American juniper, Juniperus virginiana. red cell (or corpuscle) an erythrocyte. red cent US the smallest (orig. copper) coin; a trivial sum. Red Crescent an organization like the Red Cross in Muslim countries. red cross
1 St George's cross, the national emblem of England.
2 the Christian side in the crusades.
Red Cross
1 an international organization (originally medical) bringing relief to victims of war or natural disaster.
2 the emblem of this organization. red deer a deer, Cervus elaphus, with a rich red-brown summer coat turning dull-brown in winter. red duster Brit. colloq. = red ensign. red dwarf an old relatively cool star. red ensign see ENSIGN.
red-eye
1 = RUDD.
2 US sl. cheap whisky. red-faced embarrassed, ashamed.
red flag
1 the symbol of socialist revolution.
2 a warning of danger. red fox a native British fox, Vulpes vulpes, having a characteristic deep red or fawn coat. red giant a relatively cool giant star. red grouse a subspecies of the willow grouse, native to Britain and familiar as a game-bird. Red Guard hist. a member of a militant youth movement in China (1966-76).
red gum
1 a teething-rash in children.
2 a a reddish resin. b any of various kinds of eucalyptus yielding this. red-handed in or just after the act of committing a crime, doing wrong, etc.
red hat
1 a cardinal's hat.
2 the symbol of a cardinal's office.
red-headed
1 (of a person) having red hair.
2 (of birds etc.) having a red head.
red heat
1 the temperature or state of something so hot as to emit red light.
2 great excitement.
red herring
1 dried smoked herring.
2 a misleading clue or distraction (so called from the practice of using the scent of red herring in training hounds).
red-hot
1 heated until red.
2 highly exciting.
3 (of news) fresh; completely new.
4 intensely excited.
5 enraged. red-hot poker any plant of the genus Kniphofia, with spikes of usually red or yellow flowers. Red Indian offens. an American Indian. red lead a red form of lead oxide used as a pigment. red-letter day a day that is pleasantly noteworthy or memorable (orig. a festival marked in red on the calendar).
red light
1 a signal to stop on a road, railway, etc.
2 a warning or refusal. red-light district a district containing many brothels. red man = Red Indian. red meat meat that is red when raw (e.g. beef or lamb). red mullet a marine fish, Mullus surmuletus, valued as food. red pepper 1 cayenne pepper.
2 the ripe fruit of the capsicum plant, Capsicum annuum. red rag something that excites a person's rage (so called because red is supposed to provoke bulls). red rattle a pink-flowered marsh plant, Pedicularis palustris. red roan see ROAN(1). red rose the emblem of Lancashire or the Lancastrians. red shift the displacement of the spectrum to longer wavelengths in the light coming from distant galaxies etc. in recession. red spider any of various mites of the family Tetranychidae infesting hothouse plants esp. vines. red squirrel a native British squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris, with reddish fur. Red Star the emblem of some Communist countries. red tape excessive bureaucracy or adherence to formalities esp. in public business.
red-water
1 a bacterial disease of calves, a symptom of which is the passing of reddish urine.
2 a mass of water made red by pigmented plankton, esp. Gonyanlax tamarensis.
Derivatives:
reddish adj. reddy adj. redly adv. redness n.
Etymology: OE read f. Gmc
Useful english dictionary. 2012.