gaydar

American  

[gey-dahr] / ˈgeɪ dɑr /

noun

Informal.

1. a person's purported intuitive or sensing ability to identify gay people.

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gaydar British  

/ ˈɡeɪdɑː /

noun

1. informal the supposed ability of a homosexual person to recognize whether another person is homosexual

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Etymology

Origin of gaydar

First recorded in 1980–85; gay ( def. ) + (ra)dar ( def. )

Example Sentences

It’s hard to know whether she was conscious of it — gaydar? — but in retrospect, it reflects a feminist understanding that homophobia is an element of the misogyny she herself had faced.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2022

"If you go through it, for many of us, it will tweak our gaydar looking at those 1950s issues - because there seems to be more bare-chested men than you'd expect," says Prof Bengry.

From BBC • Jun. 2, 2021

For some reason I trigger other people’s gaydar on a not-infrequent basis.

From Slate • Dec. 17, 2019

"My gaydar even doesn't work that well in the present, let alone retroactively," he said.

From Salon • Jun. 17, 2019

Maybe I already show up on gaydar, even though I don’t clearly show up on my own.

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King