gay
adjective
gay
1 American
[gey]
/ geɪ /
adjective
gayer,
comparative
gayest
superlative
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of, relating to, or being a person who is sexually or romantically attracted to people of their own sex or gender.
A gay couple strolled by on the boardwalk.
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of, relating to, or being a person who is sexually or romantically attracted only to people of their own sex or gender.
Gay and bisexual men are both discussed in this study.
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of, indicating, or supporting interests or issues pertaining to gay people or the gay community.
He gives charitable contributions to a gay organization.
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Older Use. having or showing a merry, lively mood: gay music.
gay spirits;
gay music.
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Older Use. bright or showy: gay ornaments.
gay colors;
gay ornaments.
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Obsolete.
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(used especially of women and especially in poetry) beautiful, lofty, noble, or excellent.
The learned man hath got the lady gay.
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excellent; topnotch.
a gay and lofty mind.
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Older Use. given to or abounding in social or other pleasures: the Gay Nineties.
a gay social season;
the Gay Nineties.
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Older Use. sexually unrestrained; having loose morals.
In the 1930s movie, the baron is referred to as “a gay old rogue with an eye for the ladies.”
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Slang: Older Use. inappropriately forward or bold; overly familiar; reckless.
George got gay at the Christmas party and suddenly swept his boss's wife onto the dance floor.
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Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. awkward, stupid, or bad.
noun
gays
plural
adverb
Gay
2
American
[gey]
/ geɪ /
noun
-
John, 1685–1732, English poet and dramatist.
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a female or male given name.
Gay
1
British
/ ɡeɪ /
noun
gay
2
British
/ ɡeɪ /
adjective
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homosexual
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of or for homosexuals
a gay club
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carefree and merry
a gay temperament
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brightly coloured; brilliant
a gay hat
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given to pleasure, esp in social entertainment
a gay life
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noun
gay
Cultural
Sensitive Note
The sexual orientation meaning of the word gay has become so predominant that people hesitate to use the term in its original senses of “merry, lively” and “bright or showy.” But the word's association with sexuality is not new. The word gay has had various senses dealing with sexual conduct since the 17th century. A gay woman was a prostitute, a gay man a womanizer, a gay house a brothel. This sexual world included gay men too, and gay as an adjective in the sexual meaning goes back at least to the late 1930s. After World War II, as social attitudes toward sexuality began to change, gay was applied openly by gay men to themselves, first as an adjective and later as a noun. It is no longer considered slang. Today, the noun often designates only gay men and is usually used as a collective plural: gays and lesbians. How do gays feel about this? But usage as a singular noun is usually perceived as insulting. It has been argued that gay in the sense “awkward, stupid, or bad” is independent of the sexual sense, and therefore not homophobic. This argument is weakened by the fact that the sexual meaning has long been the dominant one, and thus permeates all usages of gay. See also homosexual .
Usage
Words like gay and lesbian are often used as umbrella terms describing anyone who experiences same-gender attraction, and also as more specific labels. Umbrella usage, as in gay marriage or lesbian couple, typically refers to any same-gender pairing, or to any person who is attracted to people of their own gender. Gay itself can also be used as an even more general term describing people of all genders who are attracted to their own gender. As more specific labels, gay and lesbian often mean exclusive attraction to the same gender, and may be used in contrast with terms like bisexual. And gay can also be used to refer to only men who are attracted to men (exclusively or not), in contrast to lesbian, which only refers to women. Other terms, such as sapphic for women, are sometimes used to be unambiguously inclusive of people attracted to multiple genders.
Gayness is the word used to refer to homosexuality. The noun which refers to being carefree and merry is gaiety
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of gay
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English gai, from Old French “happy, cheerful,” from Germanic; compare Old High German gāhi “fast, sudden”
Explanation
Gay is a word with many meanings. A gay person is homosexual, but if we describe something like a scene or a party as gay, that means it's bright, merry, and happy. Gay originally meant excited, festive and merry. Skipping down the street is something you'd do in a gay mood. A fun dinner party could be described as full of laughter and gaiety. Gay really only came to mean homosexual in the last century. The fight for gay rights doesn’t mean a fight for the right to be festive, it means a fight against discrimination.
Vocabulary lists containing gay
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 two worlds have rarely met, in terms of being gay and also being a direct descendant,” Marshall said.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
“Thomas Jefferson was a man of the world. I’m sure he knew gay people. Sally Hemings was enslaved, so I would think she’d be more empathetic because of being an outcast and an outsider.”
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
About one million people attend the parade on what is known as Christopher Street Day, commemorating the 1969 gay uprising against police brutality at Stonewall Inn on New York City’s Christopher Street.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
I feel like as a kid I didn’t allow myself to fully embrace it because it would be too girly, too much, too gay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
How he lit up when he realized I was gay too, even though I was in the middle of telling him about my breakup.
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
He first stepped into the role in September 2023, succeeding Ryan Tubridy and becoming the fourth permanent presenter of the programme, following Gay Byrne, Pat Kenny and Tubridy.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Sports columnist Jason Gay shares his take on the brouhaha.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Given the conditions and the flat pitch it was a superb effort from England, who set about cutting the deficit despite the loss of Emilio Gay for a duck.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Plus, Ronaldo and Messi shine, Iran’s sprint to leave the U.S. and Jason Gay on the tournament’s juiciest rivalry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Gay really was a good mechanic and the order for gasoline was definite evidence of good faith.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
“Once you find your gaggle of gays, you want to keep up with them.”
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 9, 2026
"But so much attention to female fandom... risks overshadowing what a bountiful gift Heated Rivalry is to the gays," wrote David Rooney in the Hollywood Reporter.
From BBC ● Jan. 7, 2026
“There’s a ‘Don’t be ungrateful’ tone especially aimed at gays who never knew a gay world before gender ideology took over,” Arango explained.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
In 1993, President Clinton took a first step toward lifting the ban on gays and lesbians in the military — a ban that was ended entirely in 2011.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2024
Eventually I lose myself a little in his life, dancing along with Austin, William, Nicolas, and a few hundred other gays and lesbians when the parade organizers blast the Village People’s “In the Navy.”
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
“If you like ‘Love & Basketball’ and ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ and ‘Bring It On’ but you found yourself wondering, ‘Could this maybe be a little bit gayer?’
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
Hot To Go, which she's described as "YMCA, but gayer", came with big goofy dance moves; and Red Wine Supernovas's singalong chorus gave me actual goosebumps.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2024
In Greek Pride, queer students carved out a gayer, more comfortable existence within a traditional system.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 22, 2022
Then he came back to find a much gayer D.C. than what he’d left.
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2018
Last of all Merry and Pippin said good-bye to the old Ent, and he grew gayer as he looked at them.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
In a deep dive to determine why and how “Night Country” ended up being the gayest straight show ever, I landed on a big clue.
From Salon ● Feb. 11, 2024
One of the most talked-about shows streaming right now also happens to be one of the gayest shows streaming right now.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 20, 2023
“I am, without a doubt, the gayest man I know,” he told The Times in May 2008.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2023
“It’s like literally the gayest conversation I have ever had,” Aidan said.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 25, 2021
It's basically Tiny's slightly fictionalized life story, except it is sung, and it is—I mean, I don't use this adjective lightly—the gayest single musical in all of human history.
From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan
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.
