red

1 /red/ adjective redder, reddest

1 COLOUR having the colour of blood or fire: We painted the door bright red. | a beautiful red rose

2 HAIR hair that is red has an orange-brown colour

3 SKIN skin that is red is a bright pink colour, usually only for a short time: Her cheeks were red with excitement.

4 POLITICS informal communist or extremely left­wing

5 be as red as a beetroot BrE

/beet AmE to have a very red face, usually because you are embarrassed

6 like a red rag to a bull BrE very likely to make someone angry or upset: Just mentioning his ex-wife's name was like a red rag to a bull.

7 roll out the red carpet/give sb the red carpet treatment to give special treatment to someone important who is visiting you: He's our best customer, so make sure you give him the red carpet treatment.

8 a red cent (usually in negatives) AmE informal a very small amount of money: They'll never be able to pay that - they don't have a red cent! | not worth a red cent

— redness noun (U) —see also: paint the town red paint 2 (6) 2 noun

1 (C, U) the colour of blood or fire: Red is often used as a danger sign. | the reds and yellows of the fall trees | The corrections were marked in red. (=in red ink)

2 (C, U) red wine: a nice bottle of red

3 (C) informal a slightly insulting word for someone who has communist or very left­wing ideas or opinions

4 see red to become very angry: The way he treated that dog just made me see red.

5 in the red informal owing more money than you have: These car payments are going to put me into the red again.

—compare be in the black black 2 (4)