- having the colour of blood or fire
- bright/light/dark red lipstick
- The lights (= traffic lights) changed to red before I could get across.
- a bunch of red roses
- a red dress/shirt
- the vivid red colour of the soldiers' uniforms
- Her essay was returned with lots of corrections in red ink.
- a red car
Homophones read | redread red/red//red/- read verb (past tense, past participle of read)
- Have you read his new novel yet?
- red adjective
- She's that girl over there in the red dress.
- red noun
- The red of the setting sun glowed on the horizon.
Extra ExamplesTopics Colours and Shapesa1- The coals glowed red in the dying fire.
- The leaves looked slightly red.
- her ruby red lips
- The traffic light turned red.
- Paint the pot red and allow it to dry thoroughly.
- He pressed a big red button, and his TV turned on.
- a red brick apartment building
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- glow
- go
- turn
- …
- really
- very
- completely
- …
- bright
- brilliant
- fiery
- …
- red and blotchy
- red and puffy
- red and swollen
- …
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
- (of hair or an animal’s fur) red-brown in colour
- her flaming red hair
- a red squirrel
- a red-haired girl
- Her hair was long and dark red.
- She dyes her hair red.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- glow
- go
- turn
- …
- really
- very
- completely
- …
- bright
- brilliant
- fiery
- …
- red and blotchy
- red and puffy
- red and swollen
- …
- (of the face) bright red or pink, especially because you are angry, embarrassed or ashamed
- I felt my face go red.
- (British English) She went red as a beetroot.
- (North American English) She went red as a beet.
- He stammered something and went very red in the face.
- He turned red and started yelling at me.
- red with something Her face was red with anger.
- My face probably looked as red as a strawberry.
Extra ExamplesTopics Feelingsa2- He could feel himself going bright red.
- Mr Grubb was shouting and growing redder and redder in the face.
- Ross flushed red with embarrassment.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- look
- become
- …
- very
- quite
- rather
- …
- bright
- fiery
- red with
- as red as a beet
- as red as a beetroot
- red in the face
- …
- (of the eyes) bloodshot (= with thin lines of blood in them) or surrounded by red or very pink skin
- Her eyes were red from crying.
- Her eyes were red and puffy, as if she'd been crying.
- (politics) (of an area in the US) having more people who vote for the Republican candidate than the Democratic one
- red states/counties
- (informal, usually disapproving, politics) having very left-wing political opinions; communist or socialist compare pinkTopics Politicsc1
Word OriginOld English rēad, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch rood and German rot, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin rufus, ruber, Greek eruthros, and Sanskrit rudhira ‘red’.
Idioms
See red in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee red in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishpaint the town red
- (informal) to go to a lot of different bars, clubs, etc. and enjoy yourself
red in tooth and claw
- involving opposition or competition that is violent and without sympathy
- nature, red in tooth and claw
a red rag to a bull (British English)
(North American English like waving a red flag in front of a bull)
- used to talk about something that is likely to make somebody very angry
- If you criticize him, it’s like a red rag to a bull—he gets absolutely furious.
Check pronunciation:
red