gamey

[ gey-mee ]

/ ˈgeɪ mi /

adjective, gam·i·er, gam·i·est.

gamy.

Nearby words

gamy

or gam·ey

[ gey-mee ]

/ ˈgeɪ mi /

adjective, gam·i·er, gam·i·est.

having the tangy flavor or odor of game: I like the gamy taste of venison.

having the flavor or odor of game or other meat kept uncooked until slightly tainted: The roast was still edible but was slightly gamy.

plucky; spirited.

lewd or suggestive; risqué.

gross or squalid; unwholesome.

Origin of gamy

First recorded in 1835–45; game¹ + -y¹

Related formsgam·i·ly, adverbun·gam·y, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for gamey

The grocery chain said it was making an entry into the rabbit market after demand from shoppers for the gamey offering.
Whole Foods Wants to Feed You Cute, Furry Bunnies|Tim Mak|August 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
From time to time she unmasks herself, gamey and whipped flaunting that brownish color.
For the Love of Pâté|Molly Hannon|January 5, 2011|DAILY BEAST
They feasted upon the hard, gamey bass, and sent members of their party to the fields for grains.
Child and Country|Will Levington Comfort
He was a gamey old boy, but he had had a devilish hard knock where he lived you know—Jack!
The Haunted Pajamas|Francis Perry Elliott

They are nearly as gamey and quite as good eating as the muskallonge.
Days in the Open|Lathan A. Crandall
Like all the waters of Minnesota, they teem with fine, gamey fish of many varieties.
Wonderland; or Alaska and the Inside Passage|Lieut. Frederick Schwatka
Don't be letting on to be shy, a fine, gamey, treacherous lad the like of you.
The Playboy of the Western World|J. M. Synge

British Dictionary definitions for gamey

gamey

gamy

/ (ˈɡeɪmɪ) /

adjective gamier or gamiest

having the smell or flavour of game, esp high game

informal spirited; plucky; brave

Derived Formsgamily, adverbgaminess, noun

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

Word Origin and History for gamey

gamey

adj.

also gamy, 1844, "spirited, plucky," from game (n.) + -y (2). Meaning "tasting or smelling strongly" is from 1863.

gamy

adj.

see gamey.