Definition of "red"

Your colour, I warrant you, is as red as any rose.

c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act II, scene iv]

The flowers glowed red and golden: snapdragons and sunflowers, and nasturtians trailing all over the turf walls and peeping in at the round windows.

1954 July 29, J.R.R. Tolkien, “I: A Long-Expected Party”, in The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings; 1)

[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

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

1994, Soundgarden, Spoonman

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 (lyrics and music), “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

59 sneak in some red Smuggle a bottle of wine, two glasses, and a corkscrew into a long matinee. Red wine is rich in life-extending antioxidants, and the caper will add zest even to a bad movie.

2008 January–February, “70 Ways to Improve Every Day of the Week”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 1, page 135

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

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

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

1970, “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

“Whatchu got, man?” / “Reds, bennies, dexies, yellow jackets, demmies.” / “Yeah, demmies're good shit, man. I pay you. Fuck. I got money. I'm hurting inside. Got beat up. Where my money?”

1998, Jeffery Deaver, The Coffin Dancer, New York, NY: Pocket Books, published 2021, page 285

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

1974, Tom Waits (lyrics and music), “(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night”, in The Heart of Saturday Night‎

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 […]

1982, The Rotarian, volume 140, number 1, page 39

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.

2013 November, Catch Cormier, “Sightcasting for redfish”, in Louisiana Sportsman‎

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.

2016, Jon Bounds, Danny Smith, Pier Review: A Road Trip in Search of the Great British Seaside