red / red/ • adj. (red·der, red·dest) 1. of a color at the end of the spectrum next to orange and opposite violet, as of blood, fire, or rubies: her red lips the sky was turning red outside. ∎  (of a person or their face or complexion) flushed or rosy, esp. with embarrassment, anger, or a healthy glow: there were some red faces at headquarters. ∎  (of a person's eyes) bloodshot or having pink rims, esp. with tiredness or crying: her eyes were red and swollen. ∎  (of hair or fur) of a reddish-brown color. ∎ dated, offens. (of a people) having or regarded as having reddish skin. ∎  of or denoting the suits hearts and diamonds in a deck of cards. ∎  (of wine) made from dark grapes and colored by their skins. ∎  denoting a red light or flag used as a signal to stop. ∎  used to denote something forbidden, dangerous, or urgent: the force went on red alert. ∎  (of a ski run) of the second highest level of difficulty, as indicated by colored markers. ∎  Physics denoting one of three colors of quark.2. (Red) inf., chiefly derog. communist or socialist (used esp. during the Cold War with reference to the Soviet Union): the Red Menace.Contrasted with white (sense 3).3. stained or covered with blood: the red hands and sharp knives of the fishermen. ∎ archaic or poetic/lit. involving bloodshed or violence: red battle stamps his foot and nations feel the shock.• n. 1. red color or pigment: colors range from yellow to deep red their work is marked in red by the teacher | the reds and browns of wood. ∎  red clothes or material: she could not wear red.2. a red thing or person, in particular: ∎  a red wine. ∎  a red ball in billiards. ∎  a red light.3. (also Red) inf., chiefly derog. a communist or socialist.4. (the red) the situation of owing money or showing a debit: the company was $4,000,000 in the red.PHRASES: better dead than red (or better red than dead) a cold-war slogan claiming that the prospect of nuclear war is preferable to that of a communist society (or vice versa). (as) red as a beet (of a person) red-faced, typically through embarrassment.red in tooth and claw involving savage or merciless conflict or competition: nature, red in tooth and claw.the red planet a name for Mars.the red, white, and blue inf. the U.S. national flag: learning respect for the red, white, and blue.see red inf. become very angry suddenly: the mere thought of Peter with Nicole made her see red.DERIVATIVES: red·dish adj.red·dy adj.red·ly adv.red·ness n.ORIGIN: Old 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.’