gray

or grey

[grey]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gray ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, gray·er, gray·est.

of a color between white and black; having a neutral hue.

dark, dismal, or gloomy: gray skies.

dull, dreary, or monotonous.

having gray hair; gray-headed.

pertaining to old age; mature.

Informal. pertaining to, involving, or composed of older persons: gray households.

old or ancient.

indeterminate and intermediate in character: The tax audit concentrated on deductions in the gray area between purely personal and purely business expenses.

noun

any achromatic color; any color with zero chroma, intermediate between white and black.

something of this color.

gray material or clothing: to dress in gray.

an unbleached and undyed condition.

(often initial capital letter) a member of the Confederate army in the American Civil War or the army itself.Compare blue(def 5).

a horse of a gray color.

a horse that appears white but is not an albino.

verb (used with or without object)

to make or become gray.

Origin of gray

before 900; Middle English; Old English grǣg; cognate with German grau

Related formsgray·ly, adverbgray·ness, nounun·grayed, adjective

gray

[grey]

noun Physics.

the standard unit of absorbed dose of radiation (such as x-rays) in the International System of Units(SI), equal to the amount of ionizing radiation absorbed when the energy imparted to matter is 1 J/kg (one joule per kilogram). Abbreviation: Gy

Compare rad.

Origin of gray

First recorded in 1975; named in honor of Louis Harold Gray (1905–65), English radiobiologist

Gray

[grey]

noun

A·sa

[ey-suh] /ˈeɪ sə/, 1810–88, U.S. botanist.

Robert,1755–1806, U.S. explorer and sea captain: discovered the Columbia River.

Thomas,1716–71, English poet.

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

Related Words for gray

dusty, drab, grey, silvery, stone, lead, slate, neutral, pearly, powder, iron, dappled, shaded, clouded, ash, heather, silvered, Dove, oyster, ashen

Examples from the Web for gray

Contemporary Examples of gray

I lie and nod my head yes while wiping the tears on my gray fleece sleeve.
You’re Never ‘Cured’ of an Eating Disorder
Carrie Arnold
December 20, 2014
Then the gift card is shopped online in a gray market to collect cold currency.
The Insane $11 Billion Scam at Retailers’ Return Desks
M.L. Nestel
December 19, 2014
Caller: “He has a gray, gray coat with black sleeves and gray pants on.”
The Cleveland Cops Who Fired 137 Shots and Cried Victim
Michael Daly
December 2, 2014
Her neon blue hair is teased high with a gray stripe emerging from the front.
Whip It: Secrets of a Dominatrix
Justin Jones
November 25, 2014
On Sept. 30, 2012, FWS delisted the gray wolf and transferred wildlife management to the states.
What It Takes to Kill a Grizzly Bear
Doug Peacock
November 23, 2014

Historical Examples of gray

It faded soon into a gray fog, with puffs of wind from the southwest again.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
Gray Peter had been fresher than Sally at the end of the run of the day before.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
"We'll let the men wrestle with the unpacking, girls," decided Mrs. Gray.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
"I think I'll wait for you on the veranda, children," said Mrs. Gray.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
Then I come on a slab of gray stone upstanding about fifteen feet.
Ballads of a Bohemian
Robert W. Service

British Dictionary definitions for gray

gray

adjective, noun, verb

a variant spelling (now esp US) of grey

Derived Formsgrayish, adjectivegrayly, adverbgrayness, noun

gray

noun

the derived SI unit of absorbed ionizing radiation dose or kerma equivalent to an absorption per unit mass of one joule per kilogram of irradiated material. 1 gray is equivalent to 100 radsSymbol: Gy

Word Origin for gray

C20: named after Louis Harold Gray (1905–65), English physicist

Gray

noun

Thomas. 1716–71, English poet, best known for his Elegy written in a Country Churchyard (1751)

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 gray

adj.

Old English græg (Mercian grei), from Proto-Germanic *grisja- "gray" (cf. Old Norse grar, Old Frisian gre, Middle Dutch gra, Dutch graw, Old High German grao, German grau), with no certain cognates outside Germanic. French gris, Spanish gris, Italian grigio, Medieval Latin griseus are Germanic loan-words.

The distinction between British grey and U.S. gray developed 20c. The noun is c.1200, from the adjective. Gray as figurative for "Southern troops in the U.S. Civil War" is first recorded 1863, in reference to their uniform color. Expression the gray mare is the better horse in reference to households ruled by wives is recorded from 1540s. The verb is 1610s (with an isolated instance from late 14c.). Related: Grayed; graying.

gray in Medicine

gray

[grā]

n.

A unit for a specific absorbed dose of radiation equal to 100 rads.

Gray

Henry 1825?-1861

British anatomist whose work Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical (1858), known as Gray's Anatomy, remains a standard text.

gray in Science

gray

[grā]

The SI derived unit used to measure the energy absorbed by a substance per unit weight of the substance when exposed to radiation. One gray is equal to one joule per kilogram, or 100 rads. The gray is named after British physicist Louis Harold Gray (1905-1965).

Idioms and Phrases with gray

gray

In addition to the idioms beginning with gray

gray area
gray matter

also see:

get gray hair from