grey

[ grey ]

/ greɪ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR grey ON THESAURUS.COM

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

gray¹.

Nearby words

grew, grewsome, grewsomely, grex, grexit, grey, grey area, grey body, grey duck, grey eminence, grey fox

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

Definition for grey (2 of 3)

Grey

[ grey ]

/ greɪ /

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.

Definition for grey (3 of 3)

gray

or grey

[ grey ]

/ greɪ /

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

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

Examples from the Web for grey

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|DAILY BEAST
The acts Grey performs on Steele are all popular among BDSM enthusiasts.
Whip It: Secrets of a Dominatrix|Justin Jones|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
The grey light of dawn faintly illumined this scene of carnage, and its pale, cold gleams mingled with the ruddy glow of the fire.
Annals of a Fortress|E. Viollet-le-Duc
There were dark rings under Jill's grey eyes, and Daphne looked pale and tired.
Berry And Co.|Dornford Yates
We need a few more cities, and Grey Town shall be one of the first.
Grey Town|Gerald Baldwin
Slowly, very slowly, there emerged from the darkness two Grey Pumpkins.
Knock Three Times!|Marion St. John Webb
He heard the flutter of skirts—just caught the grey stockings, swift and light, as they flew behind the rhododendron masses.
Day and Night Stories|Algernon Blackwood

British Dictionary definitions for grey (1 of 5)

grey

now esp US gray

/ (ɡreɪ) /

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 for grey

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

British Dictionary definitions for grey (2 of 5)

Grey

/ (ɡreɪ) /

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)

British Dictionary definitions for grey (3 of 5)

gray

/ (ɡreɪ) /

adjective, noun, verb

a variant spelling (now esp US) of grey

Derived Formsgrayish, adjectivegrayly, adverbgrayness, noun

British Dictionary definitions for grey (4 of 5)

gray

/ (ɡreɪ) /

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

British Dictionary definitions for grey (5 of 5)

Gray

/ (ɡreɪ) /

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 (1 of 2)

grey

see gray.

Word Origin and History for grey (1 of 2)

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.

Medicine definitions for grey (1 of 2)

gray

[ grā ]

n.

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

Medicine definitions for grey (2 of 2)

Gray

Henry 1825?-1861

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

Science definitions for grey

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 (1 of 2)

grey

see gray.

Idioms and Phrases with grey (2 of 2)

gray

In addition to the idioms beginning with gray

gray area
gray matter

also see:

get gray hair from

grey

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Definition for.css-ylq2vz{color:#1a1a1a;} grey (2 of 3)

Grey

noun

Definition for grey (3 of 3)

gray

or grey

adjective, gray·er, gray·est.

noun

verb (used with or without object)

Origin of gray

Examples from the Web for grey

British Dictionary definitions for grey (1 of 5)

grey

now esp US gray

adjective

noun

verb

Word Origin for grey

British Dictionary definitions for grey (2 of 5)

Grey

noun

British Dictionary definitions for grey (3 of 5)

gray

adjective, noun, verb

British Dictionary definitions for grey (4 of 5)

gray

noun

Word Origin for gray

British Dictionary definitions for grey (5 of 5)

Gray

noun

Word Origin and History for grey (1 of 2)

grey

Word Origin and History for grey (1 of 2)

gray

Medicine definitions for grey (1 of 2)

gray

n.

Medicine definitions for grey (2 of 2)

Gray

Science definitions for grey

gray

Idioms and Phrases with grey (1 of 2)

grey

Idioms and Phrases with grey (2 of 2)

gray

Definition for grey (2 of 3)