any of several noisy, vivacious birds of the crow family, subfamily Garrulinae, as the crested Garrulus glandarius, of the Old World, having brownish plumage with blue, black, and white barring on the wings.
Informal. a simpleminded or gullible person.
John, 1745–1829, U.S. statesman and jurist: first chief justice of the U.S. 1789–95.
a male given name.
any of various passerine birds of the family Corvidae (crows), esp the Eurasian Garrulus glandarius, with a pinkish-brown body, blue-and-black wings, and a black-and-white crest See also blue jay
a foolish or gullible person
1275–35; Middle English jai < Middle French < Late Latin gāius, gāia, perhaps after Latin Gāius man's name
First recorded in 1965–70; probably spelling of initial consonant of joint, perhaps suggested by pig Latin version ointjay
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“This is Florida’s oldest fake news,” said Kris Cole, a retired high-school teacher who helped his students in Seminole County promote the scrub jay for decades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
"There's a jay ... That's a bluethroat ... Do you see the hen harrier? We're lucky," the 37-year-old photographer told AFP.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
Warmer temperatures, the scientists hypothesize, make jay nests susceptible to predation by snakes for a longer period of the Florida spring than in the past.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 25, 2024
In downtown Perry, Iowa, on Friday, residents wore blue to support each other, reflecting the school district’s mascot, the blue jay.
From New York Times ● Jan. 5, 2024
The jay called again, deeper in the forest now, but answered by a chorus of reply.
From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker
Add another future NFL quarterback, Jay Schroeder, and the City Section could compare itself to anyone in the nation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
One recent breakthrough, Bernstein analyst Jay Huang noted, is the ability for humanoids to simulate potential scenarios and plan for them through AI models.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026
"We are now firmly in the quantum advantage era," said Jay Gambetta, Director of IBM Research and IBM Fellow.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
“It felt very much like a boring day waiting for the Fed, but it’s waiting for Nvidia,” said Jay Hatfield, chief executive at Infrastructure Capital Advisors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
As I walked up, Papa frowned and said, “What were you running from, Jay Berry? And look at your clothes. Why, they’re torn all to pieces. What happened anyway?”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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.
