blue ribbon
noun
the highest award or distinction, as the first prize in a contest.
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blue ribbon
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blue-ribbon
blue-ribbonadjectiveof superior quality or prominence; first-rate; specially selected.
blue ribbon
1 American
[bloo rib-uhn]
/ ˈblu ˈrɪb ən /
noun
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the highest award or distinction, as the first prize in a contest.
His entry at the state fair won a blue ribbon.
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a blue ribbon worn as a badge of honor, especially by members of the Order of the Garter of the British knighthood.
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(initial capital letters) Also Blue Ribband. (formerly) a prize awarded to an ocean liner making the fastest recorded trip across the Atlantic Ocean between Ambrose Lightship and Bishop Rock.
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a badge used by some temperance organizations to indicate a pledge of abstinence from alcohol.
blue-ribbon
2
American
[bloo-rib-uhn]
/ ˈbluˈrɪb ən /
adjective
blue ribbon
British
noun
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(in Britain) a badge of blue silk worn by members of the Order of the Garter
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a badge awarded as the first prize in a competition
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a badge worn by a member of a temperance society
Etymology
Origin of blue ribbon1
First recorded in 1645–55
Origin of blue-ribbon2
First recorded in 1925–30; adj. use of blue ribbon
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Far from staging the blue ribbon Ulster senior finals it will now only be able to host lower ranking fixtures.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
"I went to the L.A. County Fair, and I won that blue ribbon," she remembers.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2024
When Sandra Lee won a blue ribbon at the Los Angeles County Fair, her sister called to tell her the good news.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2024
California is not the biggest state by acreage — Alaska takes that blue ribbon, with Texas as runner-up — but we are the most populous and arguably the richest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2023
The hatband on it happened to be a blue ribbon.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
In 2001, in response to such critiques, the Smithsonian convened a blue-ribbon commission of historians and others led by Richard Darman, a former top aide in Republican White Houses.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
We bought pie from church ladies, high-school clubs, a state-fair blue-ribbon winner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
The Carnegie Foundation offered prestigious fellowships, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences convened a blue-ribbon commission.
From Slate ● May 1, 2026
NAIRR’s road map comes from a 6-year, $2.6 billion plan for growing the nation’s academic AI research capacity that a blue-ribbon panel proposed in January 2023.
From Science Magazine ● May 8, 2024
Then we’d make fun of the blue-ribbon craft projects and dance a wild jitterbug to whatever lame-o band they’d brought in.
From "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by emily m. danforth
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