guy
noun
a man or boy; fellow.
guy
1 American
[gahy]
/ gaɪ /
noun
-
Informal. a man or boy; fellow.
He's a nice guy.
-
Informal. none guys people, regardless of their gender.
Could one of you guys help me with this?
-
Chiefly British Slang. a grotesquely dressed person.
-
British. Often Guy a grotesque effigy of Guy Fawkes that is paraded through the streets and burned on Guy Fawkes Day.
verb (used with object)
guyed,
guying
idioms
guy
2
American
[gahy]
/ gaɪ /
noun
verb (used with object)
guyed,
guying
Guy
3
American
[gahy, gee]
/ gaɪ, gi /
noun
guy
1
British
/ ɡaɪ /
noun
-
informal a man or youth
-
a crude effigy of Guy Fawkes, usually made of old clothes stuffed with straw or rags, that is burnt on top of a bonfire on Guy Fawkes Day
-
a person in shabby or ludicrously odd clothes
-
informal (plural) persons of either sex
verb
guy
2
British
/ ɡaɪ /
noun
verb
Guy
3
British
/ ɡaɪ /
noun
GUY
4
British
abbreviation
Etymology
Origin of guy1
First recorded in 1800–10; after Guy Fawkes
Origin of guy2
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English gi(e), from Old French guie “a guide,” derivative of guier to guide
Explanation
A guy is a dude, a boy, a man, or really anybody. It's an informal way to refer to a person, especially a male. But a group of people can be guys, even if they’re all female. Hey guys! Another meaning of guy comes from a guy rope, which is basically a rope that supports something like a tent to a pole. What a guy! So to guy means “to support” or “tie to” and not just physically. It’s almost like a “guide” which comes from Old French guie, and ultimately from a Germanic root. The sense attributed to a person or a fellow comes from two sources: a French proper name for a male (related to Guido in Italian) and Guy Fawkes, who famously plotted to blow up Parliament in 1605 and is still burned in effigy yearly on the British Guy Fawkes Day.
Vocabulary lists containing guy
First-Name Basis: Words That Are Also Names
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Graham's Top 50 Words, in terms of relevance
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Christie's Top 50 Most Relevant Words
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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:
Since my longtime therapist’s behavioral approach had already helped rein in my personality enough to quit smoking and drinking, and marry a great guy, I decided to try his suggestion.
From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026
Eckerlin played at left-back but admits he "wasn't a technical guy" before joking he was more of a fighter on the pitch.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
He was an early champion of the Apple II and was known in the industry as the guy on Wall Street who took the personal computer seriously.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
“John is a guy that I know can lead that process.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
The guy behind the counter sighs, drumming his fingers on the register.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
If I want a really good steak, I’ll go to the Nice Guy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
“The yield curve could invert,” said Guy LeBas, chief fixed-income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott, on Tuesday.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
Gerace, who offers advice for drivers on the Rideshare Guy site, spritzes “Fresh Scent” Febreze after a passenger leaves and then drives around with the windows down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
But thunderstorms can move quickly and, according to Prof Guy Gratton, an expert in aeronautics at Cranfield University, these systems are essentially "tactical rather than strategic".
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
She grabbed half a lemon that she kept in the comer by the folded mat that she and Guy unrolled to sleep on every night.
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
“Is this THE GUY who was supposed to give us the $2 million or is this his relative?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2022
GUY HUNT|Alabama Left office in 1993 after he was found guilty of converting $200,000 to personal use from a nonprofit fund set up for his inauguration.
From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2017
GO-TO GUY: Minnesota’s Stefon Diggs, who’s tied for fourth in the league with 61 receptions, caught 13 passes in each of the past two games to set an NFL record.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 18, 2016
Kobe Bryant: Has a profile but it was definitely written by a fan: The phrase "GUY CODE" is used.
From Time ● Jul. 11, 2011
The Volumes now ready are— GUY CARLTON—A Boy who belonged to the “Try Company.”
From Jessie Carlton The Story of a Girl who Fought with Little Impulse, the Wizard, and Conquered Him by Daniel Wise
Certainly, political and religious leaders, the rich and powerful are mercilessly guyed, but this is surely the mot juste, because the disjunction between these effigies and the people they represent is understood by all.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2015
It's as if they think they have to imitate someone other than themselves, to summon up a pretend, all-purpose actress who can be guyed.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 15, 2013
The tubes were guyed to earth at each end and inflated; they rose in arches.
From Time Magazine Archive
The spindle and hub were attached to a steel barrel frozen into the ice and guyed solidly.
From Time Magazine Archive
When she thought fit, she bullied him shamefully; when she thought fitter, she "guyed" him unmercifully.
From Life on the Stage by Clara Morris
Waters' hole card is Johnny Depp, the winsome tough from TV's 21 Jump Street, who radiates big- screen grace and swagger as Cry-Baby -- no easy trick, since he is guying his own image.
From Time Magazine Archive
Best shot—the prefects guying Woodley about his love-affair.
From Time Magazine Archive
One thinks of Rowlandson as purely English, because of his devotion to the English scene and his delight in guying the manners and affectations of the French.
From Time Magazine Archive
The cumulative effect of its guying would not nettle even the income tax bureau, for Funnyman Cantor pokes lightly at an array of straw men.
From Time Magazine Archive
The unterrified Kentucky rank and file took to guying their civilian star-bearer.
From A Soldier's Trial An Episode of the Canteen Crusade by Charles King
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
