grey

[ grey ]
See synonyms for grey on Thesaurus.com
adjective, noun, verb (used with or without object)grey·er, grey·est,
  1. Chiefly British. a variant of gray1.

Other words from grey

  • greyly, adverb
  • greyness, noun
  • un·greyed, adjective

Other definitions for Grey (2 of 2)

Grey
[ grey ]

noun
  1. Charles, 2nd Earl, 1764–1845, British statesman: prime minister 1830–34.

  2. Sir Edward Viscount Fallodon, 1862–1933, British statesman.

  1. Sir George, 1812–98, British statesman and colonial administrator: prime minister of New Zealand 1877–79.

  2. 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.

  3. Zane [zeyn], /zeɪn/, 1875–1939, U.S. novelist.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use grey in a sentence

  • You're not up yet owing to the difference in time—I can imagine the quiet house with the first of the morning stealing greyly in.

    Carry On | Coningsby Dawson
  • The golden fields of wheat spread round it like a sea, and the ancient house stood up greyly and lonely like a thing accursed.

    The Solitary Farm | Fergus Hume
  • He lowered himself into a chair, and he was still there, motionless before a dead fire, when morning dawned greyly.

  • The castle, stands greyly aloof and apart, high on its hill, banked up by serrated chalk cliffs and grey expanse of wall.

    Autumn Impressions of the Gironde | Isabel Giberne Sieveking
  • For unexpectedly and greyly something was coming up all round the four sides of the carpet.

British Dictionary definitions for grey (1 of 2)

grey

now esp US gray

/ (ɡreɪ) /


adjective
  1. of a neutral tone, intermediate between black and white, that has no hue and reflects and transmits only a little light

  2. greyish in colour or having parts or marks that are greyish

  1. dismal or dark, esp from lack of light; gloomy

  2. neutral or dull, esp in character or opinion

  3. having grey hair

  4. of or relating to people of middle age or above: grey power

  5. ancient; venerable

  6. (of textiles) natural, unbleached, undyed, and untreated

noun
  1. any of a group of grey tones

  2. grey cloth or clothing: dressed in grey

  1. an animal, esp a horse, that is grey or whitish

verb
  1. to become or make grey

Origin of grey

1
Old English grǣg; related to Old High German grāo, Old Norse grar

Derived forms of grey

  • greyish or mainly US grayish, adjective
  • greyly or mainly US grayly, adverb
  • greyness or mainly US grayness, noun

British Dictionary definitions for Grey (2 of 2)

Grey

/ (ɡreɪ) /


noun
  1. 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)

  2. Sir Edward, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon. 1862–1933, British statesman; foreign secretary (1905–16)

  1. Sir George. 1812–98, British statesman and colonial administrator; prime minister of New Zealand (1877–79)

  2. 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

  3. Zane. 1875–1939, US author of Westerns, including Riders of the Purple Sage (1912)

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with grey

grey

see gray.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.