guy
noun
a man or boy; fellow.
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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:
Some of the Son of God’s adherents might have muddied the waters, Waldrop seems to say, but the guy had the right idea.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
It was not quite the revelation that your new meat guy has been selling you horse, but as openings for an internet rumor go, it was almost too generous.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
Two days before US-Canada trade talks dramatically derailed, Vice-President JD Vance was telling an audience at a private fundraiser that Prime Minister Mark Carney was a "very sweet guy".
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
His fiancée, Brittany Lindsey, had described the 30-year-old deputy as the best guy she ever met.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
The first clip is of some guy, a few years older than us, running away from an officer.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Actor, singer and "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane wrote on X that "the world is a dimmer place without her."
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Guy Mathias, from the Security Commonwealth - a trade group for security firms - says he thinks many Pride organisers will review their plans following the Berlin attack.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Margaret Qualley, Allison Janney and Guy Pearce also star in this adaptation of Peter Heller’s novel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
“One employee identified Guy Miles from the lineup, even though there were issues with the identification process,” the center said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
“Listen, Guy Who Has Jupiter’s Father’s Back, probably not. It wouldn’t be good for him, and I’m not sure it would be good for her.”
From "Orbiting Jupiter" by Gary D. Schmidt
“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
NEW GUY: Rams receiver Sammy Watkins watched from the sideline in sweats after arriving in LA earlier in the day.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 13, 2017
GUY 2: And look who’s with him — Billy Joel!
From New York Times ● Oct. 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
GUY saw her, and loved her, with reason,For beauty so brightSent him mad with delight;He purchased a stall for the season,And sat in it every night.
From The Bab Ballads by Sir W. S. (William Schwenck) Gilbert
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 spindle and hub were attached to a steel barrel frozen into the ice and guyed solidly.
From Time Magazine Archive
Old folkies will spot the genres being guyed.
From Time Magazine Archive
He said quite simply: “They … they guyed you?”
From Royal Highness by Thomas Mann
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
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
"We must stick together, provided you will try to keep that mouth of yours closed and quit guying me," Charley retorted.
From The Boy Chums in the Forest or Hunting for Plume Birds in the Florida Everglades by J. Watson Davis
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.
