blush

verb

/blʌʃ/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they blush	/blʌʃ/ /blʌʃ/
he / she / it blushes	/ˈblʌʃɪz/ /ˈblʌʃɪz/
past simple blushed	/blʌʃt/ /blʌʃt/
past participle blushed	/blʌʃt/ /blʌʃt/
-ing form blushing	/ˈblʌʃɪŋ/ /ˈblʌʃɪŋ/

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[intransitive] to become red in the face because you are embarrassed or ashamed synonym go red
- blush (with something) (at something) to blush with embarrassment/shame
- She blushed furiously at the memory of the conversation.
- He looked away, blushing.
- + adj./noun He blushed scarlet at the thought.
Extra Examples
- He blushed at the mention of her name.
- She blushed more readily when she was a teenager.
- Stop teasing him—you're making him blush.
- Lia blushed a deep shade of red.
Topics Appearancec1, Feelingsc1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- deeply
- furiously
- hotly
- …
verb + blush
- make somebody
preposition
- at
- with
phrases
- blush crimson
- blush pink
- blush red
- …
See full entry
[transitive] blush to do something to be ashamed or embarrassed about something
- I blush to admit it, but I quite like her music.
- I blush to think of how I behaved the last time we met.

Word OriginOld English blyscan; related to modern Dutch blozen.

noun

/blʌʃ/

Idioms

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[countable] the red colour that spreads over your face when you are embarrassed or ashamed
- She felt a warm blush rise to her cheeks.
- He turned away to hide his blushes.
Extra Examples
- His jokes produced blushes from the ladies.
- She lowered her eyes with a deep blush.
- a blush of embarrassment
Topics Appearancec1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- crimson
- deep
- faint
- …
verb + blush
- hide
blush + verb
- deepen
- colour/color somebody’s cheeks
- creep
- …
preposition
- with a blush
- without a blush
- blush of
- …
phrases
- a blush comes to somebody’s cheeks
- a blush comes to somebody’s face
- bring a blush to somebody’s cheeks
- …
See full entry
(North American English)
(also blusher British and North American English)
[uncountable, countable] a coloured cream or powder that some people put on their cheeks (= on their faces below the eyes) to give them more colour

Word OriginOld English blyscan; related to modern Dutch blozen.

Idioms

spare somebody’s blushes

(British English) to save somebody from an embarrassing situation
- A last minute goal spared their blushes.