red

Noun (1)

red (countable and uncountable, plural reds)

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.
   • Red can be seen as hot or angry.
   • 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...2025 February 21, Leah Dolan, “How the Superman ‘S’ became fashion’s favorite logo”, in CNN
2. (countable) A revolutionary socialist or (most commonly) a Communist; (usually capitalized) a Bolshevik, a supporter of the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War.
3. (countable) One of the 15 red balls used in snooker, distinguished from the colours.
4. Red wine.
   • 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.1977 September, Billy Joel, “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant”, in The Stranger
   • He produced a wine key from his jacket pocket and effortlessly removed the cork from the bottle of red.2005, Jeffrey P. Landry, Temptation Mango
5. (countable) Any of several varieties of ale which are brewed with red or kilned malt, giving the beer a red colour.
   • 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.2012 June 5, Howard Stelzer, Beer Cocktails: 50 Superbly Crafted Cocktails that Liven Up Your Lagers and Ales, Harvard Common Press, →ISBN
   • 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.2016 April 1, Lonely Planet, Helena Smith, Andy Symington, Donna Wheeler, Lonely Planet Belgium & Luxembourg, Lonely Planet, →ISBN
6. (countable, informal) A red variety of an animal, such as a red kangaroo or a red squirrel.
7. (UK, countable, informal) A redshank.
8. (derogatory, offensive) An American Indian.

   Synonyms:

   redskin

9. (slang) The drug secobarbital; a capsule of this drug.
   • 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 cocaine1970, “Truckin'”, in American Beauty, performed by Grateful Dead
   • 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.1971, Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Harper Perennial, published 2005, page 202

   Synonyms:

   redbird, red devil

10. (informal) A red light (a traffic signal)
    • 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 night1974, Tom Waits, “(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night”, in The Heart of Saturday Night
11. (Ireland, UK, informal) Red lemonade
12. (particle) One of the three color charges for quarks.

Adjective (1)

red (comparative redder, superlative reddest)

1. Of a red hue.
   • The girl wore a red skirt.
   • He was wearing a red jacket.
2. Having an orange-brown or orange-blond colour; ginger.
   • Her hair had red highlights.
3. 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.1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 23
4. Having a brown color.
5. 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.
6. (capitalized, often) Left-wing parties and movements, chiefly socialist or communist, including the U.K. Labour party and the Social Democratic Party of Germany.
   • "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...
   • the red-black grand coalition in Germany
7. (US, capitalized, often) The U.S. Republican Party.
   • a red state
   • a red Congress
8. (derogatory, offensive) Amerind; relating to Amerindians or First Nations.
   • All my friends are Indians / All my friends are brown and red1994, Soundgarden, Spoonman
9. Of the lower-frequency region of the (typically visible) part of the electromagnetic spectrum which is relevant in the specific observation.
10. (particle) Of a red color charge.

Interjection

1. (procedure word) Used to indicate that the speaker wishes current sexual activity to stop immediately.

Noun (2) capitalized: Red

Red (plural Reds)

1. 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.1935 May 18, “Gen. Chiang Kai-shek Urges Full Development of Resources in Yunnan”, in The China Weekly Review, volume 72, number 12, →OCLC, page 385, column 1
   • The policeman who arrests the "Red" does not understand the theories the "Red" is preaching; if he did, his own position as bodyguard of the monied class might seem less pleasant to him.1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, Pt. I
2. A supporter of a sports team who wears red as part of their kit.
3. The player moving the red pieces.
   • When the Chief Arbiter announces the start of the game, the player taking Black will press the clock, and Red would make his move before pressing the clock.2018 April, “World XiangQi Rules”, in World Xiangqi Federation, archived from the original on 02 Jan 2026, page 13

Proper noun capitalized: Red

Red

1. A nickname given to someone who has or had red hair.

Adjective (2) capitalized: Red

Red

1. Communist.
   • the Red Army
   1. (by generalization) Related to socialist or leftist politics.
2. (dated, ethnic, offensive, slur, usually) Native American.
   • the Red race

   Synonyms:

   red-skinned

Noun (3) capitalized: RED

RED (uncountable)

1. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of reverse electrodialysis.

Adjective (3) capitalized: RED

RED (not comparable)

1. (on government documents) red (hair color).