guy
noun
a man or boy; fellow.
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guy ed.
guy
1 American
[gahy]
/ gaɪ /
noun
-
Informal. a man or boy; fellow.
He's a nice guy.
-
Informal. none guys people, regardless of their gender.
Could one of you guys help me with this?
-
Chiefly British Slang. a grotesquely dressed person.
-
British. Often Guy a grotesque effigy of Guy Fawkes that is paraded through the streets and burned on Guy Fawkes Day.
verb (used with object)
guyed,
guying
idioms
guy
2
American
[gahy]
/ gaɪ /
noun
verb (used with object)
guyed,
guying
Guy
3
American
[gahy, gee]
/ gaɪ, gi /
noun
guy
1
British
/ ɡaɪ /
noun
-
informal a man or youth
-
a crude effigy of Guy Fawkes, usually made of old clothes stuffed with straw or rags, that is burnt on top of a bonfire on Guy Fawkes Day
-
a person in shabby or ludicrously odd clothes
-
informal (plural) persons of either sex
verb
guy
2
British
/ ɡaɪ /
noun
verb
Guy
3
British
/ ɡaɪ /
noun
GUY
4
British
abbreviation
Etymology
Origin of guy1
First recorded in 1800–10; after Guy Fawkes
Origin of guy2
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English gi(e), from Old French guie “a guide,” derivative of guier to guide
Explanation
A guy is a dude, a boy, a man, or really anybody. It's an informal way to refer to a person, especially a male. But a group of people can be guys, even if they’re all female. Hey guys! Another meaning of guy comes from a guy rope, which is basically a rope that supports something like a tent to a pole. What a guy! So to guy means “to support” or “tie to” and not just physically. It’s almost like a “guide” which comes from Old French guie, and ultimately from a Germanic root. The sense attributed to a person or a fellow comes from two sources: a French proper name for a male (related to Guido in Italian) and Guy Fawkes, who famously plotted to blow up Parliament in 1605 and is still burned in effigy yearly on the British Guy Fawkes Day.
Vocabulary lists containing guy
First-Name Basis: Words That Are Also Names
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Graham's Top 50 Words, in terms of relevance
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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:
I met a guy two months ago and I really like him.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
But our guide is just a regular guy, which lends to the charm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
But, as it was late August, these were the only two people in the office, save for the odd delivery guy, dropping off a package.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
And it all started with a guy nobody had ever heard of.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
“What does the janitor guy have to do with the plane?” he asked.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Gerace, who offers advice for drivers on the Rideshare Guy site, spritzes “Fresh Scent” Febreze after a passenger leaves and then drives around with the windows down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Robert and Bernadette Guy, from Cardiff, said they were "absolutely shocked" to discover that their Welsh Water bill was set to rise by about £400 this year to £1,400 annually.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Australian-born media mogul Rupert Murdoch is "very happy" to see compatriot Guy Pearce play him in a new, largely sympathetic movie about his early business life, the actor said on Wednesday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
He is joined by other musicians including Camper Van Beethoven lead singer David Lowery, blues musician Guy Forsyth and saxophonist Eduardo Calle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
“You already know all my secrets,” Guy said as the boy came charging towards them.
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
“Is this THE GUY who was supposed to give us the $2 million or is this his relative?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2022
NEW GUY: Rams receiver Sammy Watkins watched from the sideline in sweats after arriving in LA earlier in the day.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 13, 2017
GUY HUNT|Alabama Left office in 1993 after he was found guilty of converting $200,000 to personal use from a nonprofit fund set up for his inauguration.
From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2017
Kobe Bryant: Has a profile but it was definitely written by a fan: The phrase "GUY CODE" is used.
From Time ● Jul. 11, 2011
Among the romances of the Anglo-Danish cycle by no means the least celebrated is that of GUY OF WARWICK.
From English and Scottish Ballads, Volume I (of 8) by Various
Certainly, political and religious leaders, the rich and powerful are mercilessly guyed, but this is surely the mot juste, because the disjunction between these effigies and the people they represent is understood by all.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2015
It's as if they think they have to imitate someone other than themselves, to summon up a pretend, all-purpose actress who can be guyed.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 15, 2013
Old folkies will spot the genres being guyed.
From Time Magazine Archive
Both nations have networks of sonar buoys guyed to sea floors and connected by cable to onshore listening stations.
From Time Magazine Archive
They were guyed unmercifully; one of them had three fights at Fort Clinton before he could convince his classmates that he really didn't want to be called "Peroxide."
From On Guard Mark Mallory's Celebration by Upton Sinclair
The cumulative effect of its guying would not nettle even the income tax bureau, for Funnyman Cantor pokes lightly at an array of straw men.
From Time Magazine Archive
Best shot—the prefects guying Woodley about his love-affair.
From Time Magazine Archive
Waters' hole card is Johnny Depp, the winsome tough from TV's 21 Jump Street, who radiates big- screen grace and swagger as Cry-Baby -- no easy trick, since he is guying his own image.
From Time Magazine Archive
One thinks of Rowlandson as purely English, because of his devotion to the English scene and his delight in guying the manners and affectations of the French.
From Time Magazine Archive
They climbed to the roof, and serenaded the men who were trying to sleep there, varying the line or two of song accorded to each with much chaffing and guying.
From The Delafield Affair by Florence Finch Kelly
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.
