red adj. & n. --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. øred
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. øøreddish adj. reddy adj. redly adv. redness n. [OE
read f. Gmc]