guy
noun
a man or boy; fellow.
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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Christie's Top 50 Most Relevant Words
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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:
“Yeah, it’s shocking to me. I’m happy about it,” he said with a laugh in the call, then was briefly interrupted by a passing admirer—a guy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
I leaped at the poor guy with a desperate relief deeply unwarranted for this situation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Now here’s a guy with the right enemies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
"The train started rocking violently and then I remember clocking eyes with this guy and then there was a lot of screaming," passenger Rachel Heath said.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
“Yeah, turns out she’s into one of her guy best frien—” Ethan stopped abruptly and had the decency to wince when he caught my panicked expression.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Guy is probably the worst human to be granted the Green Lantern’s powers: He’s pompous, ill-mannered and insecure.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Handed an elite deal for the first time are prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour, lock Alex Coles, flanker Guy Pepper, scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet and centre Seb Atkinson.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Christian Tokoto, an estate agent with Guy Hoquet Paris 5 Maubert, is trying to sell "a magnificent apartment with large windows" in Paris's well-heeled fifth district.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Hot Podium Guy exists “in the period between knowing something is going to happen and it actually happening,” she added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
However, the speech made Lili and Guy stand on the tips of their toes from great pride.
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
GO-TO GUY: Minnesota’s Stefon Diggs, who’s tied for fourth in the league with 61 receptions, caught 13 passes in each of the past two games to set an NFL record.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 18, 2016
Kobe Bryant: Has a profile but it was definitely written by a fan: The phrase "GUY CODE" is used.
From Time ● Jul. 11, 2011
"AWESOME GUY" Born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, Kasich rose to prominence on the national political stage when he used his role as chairman of the House Budget Committee to help balance the federal budget.
From Reuters ● Aug. 12, 2010
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
The tubes were guyed to earth at each end and inflated; they rose in arches.
From Time Magazine Archive
I went down to the depot for my ticket, and applied For the tips regarding Morrow, not expecting to be guyed.
From The Scrap Book. Volume 1, No. 2 April 1906 by Various
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
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
“Guying us,” he said; “he was guying us—only guying us; it’s all we’re good for.”
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. XIX (of 25) The Ebb-Tide; Weir of Hermiston by Robert Louis Stevenson
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.
