gray
1of a color between white and black; having a neutral hue.
dark, dismal, or gloomy: gray skies.
dull, dreary, or monotonous.
having gray hair; gray-headed.
pertaining to old age; mature.
Informal. pertaining to, involving, or composed of older persons: gray households.
old or ancient.
indeterminate and intermediate in character: The tax audit concentrated on deductions in the gray area between purely personal and purely business expenses.
any achromatic color; any color with zero chroma, intermediate between white and black.
something of this color.
gray material or clothing: to dress in gray.
an unbleached and undyed condition.
(often initial capital letter) a member of the Confederate army in the American Civil War or the army itself.: Compare blue (def. 5).
a horse of a gray color.
a horse that appears white but is not an albino.
to make or become gray.
Origin of gray
1- Also especially British, grey .
Other words from gray
- grayly; especially British, greyly, adverb
- grayness; especially British, greyness, noun
- un·grayed; especially British, un·greyed, adjective
Words Nearby gray
Other definitions for gray (2 of 3)
the standard unit of absorbed dose of radiation (such as x-rays) in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the amount of ionizing radiation absorbed when the energy imparted to matter is 1 J/kg (one joule per kilogram). Abbreviation: Gy
Origin of gray
2- Compare rad1.
Other definitions for Gray (3 of 3)
A·sa [ey-suh], /ˈeɪ sə/, 1810–88, U.S. botanist.
Robert, 1755–1806, U.S. explorer and sea captain: discovered the Columbia River.
Thomas, 1716–71, English poet.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use gray in a sentence
Initially its green hydrogen will replace some gray hydrogen—as natural-gas-derived hydrogen is sometimes called—used at the refinery.
Cheap renewables could make green hydrogen a practical replacement for fossil fuels | Katie McLean | February 24, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewWhen I visited Frank Keutsch in the fall of 2019, he walked me down to the lab, where the tube, wrapped in gray insulation, ran the length of a bench in the back corner.
A first-of-its-kind geoengineering experiment is about to take its first step | Emily Luong | February 19, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewThe other story is that you inherited a great, if, you know, slightly graying company, and tried to remake it in your image and wound up destroying it with a series of bad acquisitions and bad decisions.
They’ll still show up in your apps for 30 days after your subscription expires—grayed out and inaccessible—just in case you change your mind and want to sign back up again.
How to hit pause on your music streaming subscriptions | David Nield | February 16, 2021 | Popular-ScienceAt the New York City coronavirus testing site, his friend started chatting with a man with beautiful blue-gray eyes.
I lie and nod my head yes while wiping the tears on my gray fleece sleeve.
Then the gift card is shopped online in a gray market to collect cold currency.
The Insane $11 Billion Scam at Retailers’ Return Desks | M.L. Nestel | December 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“He was an absolutely gray and insignificant personality,” says Kurnosova.
Caller: “He has a gray, gray coat with black sleeves and gray pants on.”
The Cleveland Cops Who Fired 137 Shots and Cried Victim | Michael Daly | December 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHer neon blue hair is teased high with a gray stripe emerging from the front.
Very trim and strong, and confident he looked, with the glow of youth in his cheeks, and the spark of happiness in his gray eyes.
The Bondboy | George W. (George Washington) OgdenThey nodded at each other when they met, and the gray man showed him a little ship with rigging that took up and down.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II | Rudyard KiplingSome hidden magnetism burst from him like an aura, and his cold pasty face and light gray eyes flamed into positive beauty.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonThey climbed another dune, and came upon the great gray sea at low tide.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II | Rudyard KiplingThe gray eyes, once flashing with the light of kindly humor, now softened with sympathy, now glowed with pity.
The Soldier of the Valley | Nelson Lloyd
British Dictionary definitions for gray (1 of 3)
/ (ɡreɪ) /
a variant spelling (now esp US) of grey
Derived forms of gray
- grayish, adjective
- grayly, adverb
- grayness, noun
British Dictionary definitions for gray (2 of 3)
/ (ɡreɪ) /
the derived SI unit of absorbed ionizing radiation dose or kerma equivalent to an absorption per unit mass of one joule per kilogram of irradiated material. 1 gray is equivalent to 100 rads: Symbol: Gy
Origin of gray
2British Dictionary definitions for Gray (3 of 3)
/ (ɡreɪ) /
Thomas. 1716–71, English poet, best known for his Elegy written in a Country Churchyard (1751)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for gray
[ grā ]
The SI derived unit used to measure the energy absorbed by a substance per unit weight of the substance when exposed to radiation. One gray is equal to one joule per kilogram, or 100 rads. The gray is named after British physicist Louis Harold Gray (1905-1965).
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with gray
In addition to the idioms beginning with gray
- gray area
- gray matter
also see:
- get gray hair from
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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