greyed out

adjective

1. (of a navigation button, menu item, etc on a computer screen) not highlighted, indicating that the function is unavailable at a given time

More About Greyed Out

What does greyed out mean?

Greyed out describes something on a computer screen, such as a button, that is not highlighted or is colored gray to indicate that it is unavailable at that time.

Literally, greyed out describes something whose color has drained away or has changed to gray for one reason or another. For example, with a lot of exposure to sun, the color of a house can fade over time until it’s a much lighter shade of the original color. You could say that the color of the house has greyed out.

Most often, though, we use greyed out in relation to technology. In computing, when applications, files, buttons, checkboxes, and similar user interfaces aren’t available or operational, they are often colored gray to indicate their status. When you click on a greyed-out button, for example, nothing happens. The appearance of the button doesn’t change, and the task that the button should accomplish, such as taking the user to a new page, doesn’t happen. When something is greyed out, it could indicate a malfunction or error, or it could be intentional.

Greyed out can also be spelled greyed-out, grayed out, or grayed-out. Grey is the more common spelling in British English, while gray is the more common spelling in American English.

Example: I’m trying to download the copy, but for some reason the download button is greyed out.

Where does greyed out come from?

The first records of the term greyed out come from around the 1980s. It combines the terms grey and out to literally mean “colored or diffused with grey.” 

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to greyed out?

• greyed-out (alternative spelling)
• grayed out (alternative spelling)
• grayed-out (alternative spelling)

What are some synonyms for greyed out?

• nonfunctional
• nonworking

What are some words that share a root or word element with greyed out? 

• greyback
• grey area
• blackout
• whiteout 

What are some words that often get used in discussing greyed out?

• button
• computer
• icon

How is greyed out used in real life?

Greyed out is commonly used in relation to computers when something that seems like it should be clickable or fillable is not and is often literally colored gray.

why is my retweet button greyed out 0_0

— Ranz Kyle (@ranzkyle) March 28, 2016

that thing when iTunes leaves a song greyed out and nothing you can do not syncing not deleting re-adding it works [android people, do one]

— Al Murray – DKMS.ORG.UK 🇺🇦 (@almurray) January 22, 2017

 

 

Try using greyed out!

Is greyed out used correctly in the following sentence?

“After I canceled my subscription to the app, the icon became greyed out on my desktop.”