grey

[grey]

See more synonyms for grey on Thesaurus.com

adjective, grey·er, grey·est, noun, verb (used with or without object)

gray¹.

Related formsgrey·ly, adverbgrey·ness, nounun·greyed, adjective

Grey

[grey]

noun

Charles, 2nd Earl,1764–1845, British statesman: prime minister 1830–34.
Sir EdwardViscount Fallodon, 1862–1933, British statesman.
Sir George,1812–98, British statesman and colonial administrator: prime minister of New Zealand 1877–79.
Lady JaneLady Jane Dudley, 1537–54, descendant of Henry VII of England; executed under orders of Mary I to eliminate her as a rival for the throne.
Zane [zeyn] /zeɪn/, 1875–1939, U.S. novelist.

gray¹

or grey

[grey]

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 gray¹

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

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for grey

Contemporary Examples

Lacey Noonan's A Gronking to Remember makes 50 Shades of Grey look like Madame Bovary in terms of its literary sophistication.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits
Emily Shire
January 7, 2015
The acts Grey performs on Steele are all popular among BDSM enthusiasts.
Whip It: Secrets of a Dominatrix
Justin Jones
November 25, 2014
We sat in rows of grey steel fold out chairs that faced a model of the compound in Abbottabad.
I Shot Bin Laden
Elliot Ackerman
November 16, 2014
The Grey Lady said that a series of badly mishandled global crises has “fueled speculation that Mr. Obama may shake up his team.”
Before Ditching His Top Aides, Obama Should Look in the Mirror
Leslie H. Gelb
November 2, 2014
If this was their reaction to brown and grey,” I wondered, “how would they react to the sight of pink or red?
Saudi Activist Manal Al-Sharif on Why She Removed the Veil
Manal Al Sharif, Advancing Human Rights
October 30, 2014

Historical Examples

The old man was peering at him sharply from under the grey protruding brows.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
She was a widow, and had loved her husband, and her sky was still tinged with grey.
Viviette
William J. Locke
For half an hour I stood there in the grey November rain surrounded by a jeering mob.
De Profundis
Oscar Wilde
It will be seen that our grey skies and mean-looking dwellings have compensations.
In the Heart of Vosges
Matilda Betham-Edwards
It was shaded by dark chestnut hair, just silvered with grey.
Heroes of the Telegraph
J. Munro

British Dictionary definitions for grey

grey

now esp US gray

adjective

of a neutral tone, intermediate between black and white, that has no hue and reflects and transmits only a little light
greyish in colour or having parts or marks that are greyish
dismal or dark, esp from lack of light; gloomy
neutral or dull, esp in character or opinion
having grey hair
of or relating to people of middle age or abovegrey power
ancient; venerable
(of textiles) natural, unbleached, undyed, and untreated

noun

any of a group of grey tones
grey cloth or clothingdressed in grey
an animal, esp a horse, that is grey or whitish

verb

to become or make grey

Derived Formsgreyish or mainly US grayish, adjectivegreyly or mainly US grayly, adverbgreyness or mainly US grayness, noun

Word Origin

Old English grǣg; related to Old High German grāo, Old Norse grar

Grey

noun

Charles, 2nd Earl Grey. 1764–1845, British statesman. As Whig prime minister (1830–34), he carried the Reform Bill of 1832 and the bill for the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire (1833)
Sir Edward, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon. 1862–1933, British statesman; foreign secretary (1905–16)
Sir George. 1812–98, British statesman and colonial administrator; prime minister of New Zealand (1877–79)
Lady Jane. 1537–54, queen of England (July 9–19, 1553); great-granddaughter of Henry VII. Her father-in-law, the Duke of Northumberland, persuaded Edward VI to alter the succession in her favour, but after ten days as queen she was imprisoned and later executed
Zane. 1875–1939, US author of Westerns, including Riders of the Purple Sage (1912)

gray¹

adjective, noun, verb

a variant spelling (now esp US) of grey

Derived Formsgrayish, adjectivegrayly, adverbgrayness, noun

gray²

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

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 grey

see gray.

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.

grey in Medicine

gray

(grā)

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.

grey 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 grey

grey

see gray.

gray

In addition to the idioms beginning with gray

gray area
gray matter

also see:

get gray hair from

grey

Grey

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or grey

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Examples from the Web for grey

Contemporary Examples

Lacey Noonan's A Gronking to Remember makes 50 Shades of Grey look like Madame Bovary in terms of its literary sophistication.

The acts Grey performs on Steele are all popular among BDSM enthusiasts.

We sat in rows of grey steel fold out chairs that faced a model of the compound in Abbottabad.

The Grey Lady said that a series of badly mishandled global crises has “fueled speculation that Mr. Obama may shake up his team.”

If this was their reaction to brown and grey,” I wondered, “how would they react to the sight of pink or red?

Historical Examples

The old man was peering at him sharply from under the grey protruding brows.

She was a widow, and had loved her husband, and her sky was still tinged with grey.

For half an hour I stood there in the grey November rain surrounded by a jeering mob.

It will be seen that our grey skies and mean-looking dwellings have compensations.

It was shaded by dark chestnut hair, just silvered with grey.

grey

now esp US gray

Word Origin

Grey

gray1

gray2

Word Origin

Gray

Word Origin and History for grey

gray

adj.

gray

Gray

gray

Idioms and Phrases with grey

grey

gray

gray¹

Origin of gray¹

gray¹

gray²