grey
adjective
a variant of gray.
grey
1 American
[gray]
/ greɪ /
adjective
greyer,
greyest
Grey
2
American
[gray]
/ greɪ /
noun
-
Charles, 2nd Earl, 1764–1845, British statesman: prime minister 1830–34.
-
Sir Edward Viscount Fallodon, 1862–1933, British statesman.
-
Sir George, 1812–98, British statesman and colonial administrator: prime minister of New Zealand 1877–79.
-
Lady Jane Lady Jane Dudley, 1537–54, descendant of Henry VII of England; executed under orders of Mary I to eliminate her as a rival for the throne.
-
Zane 1875–1939, U.S. novelist.
grey
1
British
/ ɡreɪ /
adjective
-
of a neutral tone, intermediate between black and white, that has no hue and reflects and transmits only a little light
-
greyish in colour or having parts or marks that are greyish
-
dismal or dark, esp from lack of light; gloomy
-
neutral or dull, esp in character or opinion
-
having grey hair
-
of or relating to people of middle age or above
grey power
-
ancient; venerable
-
(of textiles) natural, unbleached, undyed, and untreated
noun
-
any of a group of grey tones
-
grey cloth or clothing
dressed in grey
-
an animal, esp a horse, that is grey or whitish
verb
Grey
2
British
/ ɡreɪ /
noun
-
Charles, 2nd Earl Grey. 1764–1845, British statesman. As Whig prime minister (1830–34), he carried the Reform Bill of 1832 and the bill for the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire (1833)
-
Sir Edward, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon. 1862–1933, British statesman; foreign secretary (1905–16)
-
Sir George. 1812–98, British statesman and colonial administrator; prime minister of New Zealand (1877–79)
-
Lady Jane. 1537–54, queen of England (July 9–19, 1553); great-granddaughter of Henry VII. Her father-in-law, the Duke of Northumberland, persuaded Edward VI to alter the succession in her favour, but after ten days as queen she was imprisoned and later executed
-
Zane. 1875–1939, US author of Westerns, including Riders of the Purple Sage (1912)
grey
Idioms
Usage
What’s the difference between grey and gray? Grey and gray are simply different spellings of the same word, which refers to the color halfway between black and white (among other more figurative meanings). In popular use, the two spellings are used interchangeably, though one spelling is often preferred in many places. The spelling grey is more common in British English, while gray is much more common in American English. Remember: spell gray with an a in America, and spell grey with an e in England (among other places). Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between grey and gray.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of grey
Old English grǣg; related to Old High German grāo, Old Norse grar
Explanation
Grey is an alternate spelling for the word gray, which is a color derived from mixing white and black. The word has also come to stand in for other mixtures as well. A person in a grey mood feels gloomy. If you are commanding a military force and you’re not sure whether you should attack a crowd that is half enemy fighters and half innocent citizens, you could say the decision falls in a grey zone. Grey can be a verb too. When you get old, your hair will grey if you don’t go bald first.
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:
The exit of the four countries leaves 18 on the FATF's grey list, including Bosnia, Bolivia, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and the British Virgin islands.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
In the run-up to its Mumbai debut, grey market platforms showed a premium of around 22 percent for Jio shares, although experts caution that such unofficial indicators can be unreliable predictors of early trading.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
Tradeweb Markets agreed to buy fixed-income trading platform Trumid, a deal that will position it earlier in the credit lifecycle and expand capabilities into grey markets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
The highest number of grey seals recorded to date at South Walney Nature Reserve was 563 in December 2024.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
The man in the grey suit turns his attention to Celia.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Data from marketing firm Grey Matter supports these patterns, revealing that business-to-business search clicks cost roughly 21% more from April through September 2026 than a year earlier.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2026
The authoritative voice we associate with Picard ordering his tea “Earl Grey, hot,” was fine-tuned over a career that began with training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where he enrolled in 1957.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
The corporation said the Lotto Max jackpot ticket was purchased a year ago at a retailer in Grey County, Ontario.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Grey Oaks Country Club in Naples, Fla., where Butler previously served as general manager, opened in 1993 with golf as its main attraction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
It was these records that brought the Grey Pilgrim to us.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Thirteen years since leaving the Bernabeu Stadium, he is older, greyer, and perhaps a little wiser.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Climbers returning from Everest have said the mountain was dryer and greyer now.
From Reuters ● Oct. 30, 2023
Beyond Covid, his legacy becomes a little greyer.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2022
Forever captured on film and in photographs as young and fresh-faced, it’s startling to see that their hair is sparser or greyer or both.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2020
Cully lost the vertical stripes of his first year’s plumage and became greyer, grimmer, madder, and distinguished by smart horizontal ban where the long stripes had been.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Colombo awoke to its greyest sky of the week come Sunday morning.
From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2026
How and when to count commercial income is already one of the greyest of grey areas in accounting.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 29, 2014
Dublin was at its wettest and greyest, while south-west London last Saturday felt like Siberia.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 26, 2013
And in Western Germany, after one of the wettest and greyest winters in 20 years, the sun was shining again, fitfully, but shining.
From Time Magazine Archive
The fattest, greyest officers dressed most, and ambled statelily along, with orderlies behind, trying to look as if they didn't know the stout party in front, and doing much caracoling on their own account.
From Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
