Red

/ɹɛd/ adj, intj, name, noun, verb, slang

adj, intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: 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.
  • Grammar: red is listed as adj, intj, name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: crimson, flushed, ruby, scarlet.
  • Useful contrasts: antired, nonred, unred.
  • Usage evidence: Why are you telling me about hippos all of the sudden? I don't see the connection between that and your twelve red goldfishes.

How to use "red"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "red" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "red" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "red" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "red" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "red" is acting as adj, intj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "crimson" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "red", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    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. countable, uncountable

    "Red can be seen as hot or angry."

  2. 2
    A Communist.

    "The 5th “Red” army corps is also making for Wuting while the 9th “Red” army corps is preparing bamboo rafts for crossing the Kin Sha Kiang (River) northwards to invade south-western Szechuan."

  3. 3
    Acronym of reverse electrodialysis. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
  4. 4
    red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood wordnet
  5. 5
    A revolutionary socialist or (most commonly) a Communist; (usually capitalized) a Bolshevik, a supporter of the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War. countable
Show 16 more definitions
  1. 6
    A supporter of a sports team who wears red as part of their kit.
  2. 7
    emotionally charged terms used to refer to extreme radicals or revolutionaries wordnet
  3. 8
    One of the 15 red balls used in snooker, distinguished from the colours. countable
  4. 9
    the amount by which the cost of a business exceeds its revenue wordnet
  5. 10
    Red wine. countable, uncountable

    "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."

  6. 11
    Any of several varieties of ale which are brewed with red or kilned malt, giving the beer a red colour. countable

    "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."

  7. 12
    A red variety of an animal, such as a red kangaroo or a red squirrel. countable, informal
  8. 13
    A redshank. UK, countable, informal
  9. 14
    An American Indian. countable, derogatory, offensive, uncountable
  10. 15
    The drug secobarbital; a capsule of this drug. countable, slang, uncountable

    "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"

  11. 16
    A red light (a traffic signal) countable, informal, uncountable

    "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"

  12. 17
    Red lemonade Ireland, UK, countable, informal, uncountable
  13. 18
    One of the three color charges for quarks. countable, particle, uncountable
  14. 19
    Chili con carne (usually in the phrase "bowl of red"). US, colloquial, uncountable

    "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 […]"

  15. 20
    The redfish or red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus, a fish with reddish fins and scales. countable, informal, uncountable

    "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."

  16. 21
    Tomato ketchup. slang, uncountable

    "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."

Verb
  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of rede archaic, form-of, participle, past
  2. 2
    Alternative spelling of redd. alt-of, alternative
Adjective
  1. 1
    Of a red hue.

    "The girl wore a red skirt."

  2. 2
    Communist.

    "the Red Army"

  3. 3
    red (hair color). not-comparable
  4. 4
    Having an orange-brown or orange-blond colour; ginger.

    "Her hair had red highlights."

  5. 5
    Having a redder hue than usual due to embarrassment, anger, sunburn, etc.; flushed.

    "[T]he sun was shining on a happy crowd. It shone on white hats and red faces. It shone on ice lollies and melted them."

Show 7 more definitions
  1. 6
    Having a brown color.
  2. 7
    Of the hearts or diamonds suits. Compare black (“of the spades or clubs suits”)

    "I got two red queens, and he got one of the black queens."

  3. 8
    Supportive of, related to, or dominated by a political party or movement represented by the color red:; Left-wing parties and movements, chiefly socialist or communist, including the U.K. Labour party and the Social Democratic Party of Germany. capitalized, often

    ""Only Nixon could go to China" was the refrain of conventional wisdom during Richard Nixon’s 1972 official visit to Mao Tse-tung’s regime. Nixon’s anti-communist credentials, however dubious, provided useful camouflage as he opened diplomatic relations with Red China and made breathtaking concessions that an undisguised liberal couldn’t get away with. https://web.archive.org/web/20061114093022/http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/1998/vo14no16/vo14no16_dragon.htm"

  4. 9
    Supportive of, related to, or dominated by a political party or movement represented by the color red:; The U.S. Republican Party. US, capitalized, often

    "a red state"

  5. 10
    Amerind; relating to Amerindians or First Nations. derogatory, offensive

    "All my friends are Indians / All my friends are brown and red"

  6. 11
    Of the lower-frequency region of the (typically visible) part of the electromagnetic spectrum which is relevant in the specific observation.
  7. 12
    Of a red color charge. particle
Adjective
  1. 1
    characterized by violence or bloodshed wordnet
  2. 2
    of a color at the end of the color spectrum (next to orange); resembling the color of blood or cherries or tomatoes or rubies wordnet
  3. 3
    (especially of the face) reddened or suffused with or as if with blood from emotion or exertion wordnet
Intj
  1. 1
    Used to indicate that the speaker wishes current sexual activity to stop immediately.
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A nickname given to someone who has or had red hair.

Synonyms

All synonyms
crimsonflushedrubyscarletadrianople redalcohol

Example

"Why are you telling me about hippos all of the sudden? I don't see the connection between that and your twelve red goldfishes."

Common questions

What does "red" mean?

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.

What is a synonym for "red"?

Common synonyms include: crimson, flushed, ruby, scarlet, adrianople red, alcohol.

How do you use "red" in a sentence?

Why are you telling me about hippos all of the sudden? I don't see the connection between that and your twelve red goldfishes.

How do you pronounce "red"?

Pronounced /ɹɛd/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

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”).

Etymology 2

From the colors used on traffic lights; red being the one that tells vehicles to halt.

Etymology 3

From the archaic verb rede.

More for "red"

Synonyms

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