gray

1 of 4

adjective

ˈgrā 

variants or less commonly grey

1

a

: of the color gray

b

: tending toward gray

blue-gray eyes

c

: dull in color

2

: having the hair gray : hoary

3

: clothed in gray

4

a

: lacking cheer or brightness in mood, outlook, style, or flavor

also : dismal, gloomy

a gray day

b

: prosaically ordinary : dull, uninteresting

the boring, gray dullness of government

—P. J. O'Rourke

5

: having an intermediate and often vaguely defined position, condition, or character

an ethically gray area

grayly adverb

grayness noun

gray

2 of 4

noun (1)

variants or less commonly grey

1

: any of a series of neutral colors ranging between black and white

2

: something (such as an animal, garment, cloth, or spot) of a gray color

3

a

: a soldier in the Confederate army during the American Civil War

b

often capitalized : the Confederate army

gray

3 of 4

verb

variants or less commonly grey

grayed also greyed; graying also greying; grays also greys

intransitive verb

1

: to become gray

2

: age

also : to contain an increasing percentage of older people

The town's population has grayed over the last two decades.

transitive verb

: to make gray

gray

4 of 4

noun (2)

: the mks unit of absorbed dose of ionizing radiation equal to an energy of one joule per kilogram of irradiated material

—abbreviation Gy

Synonyms

Adjective

• argentine
• grayish
• leaden
• pewter
• silver
• silvery
• slate
• slaty
• slatey
• steely

Examples of gray in a Sentence

Adjective

What will you do when you are old and gray?

My friends have all gone gray.

It was a gray winter day.

the gray faces of the people in the crowd

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Penny Jo dreams of being able to have Dolly's outlook on life because her world feels so gray, dark, and trapped. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 1 May 2025

The chair comes with dark gray and light gray cushions, and both are on sale for up to 51 percent off. —Rachel Trujillo, People.com, 1 May 2025

Noun

This collision course is nothing but shades of gray that inevitably lead to slowly oozing red. —Sara Netzley, EW.com, 21 Apr. 2025

One of the things that makes Andor stand out, both as a Star Wars show and as a genre show in general, is the many shades of moral gray in it, which keep getting more complex. —Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 18 Apr. 2025

Verb

Ebrard, who is sixty-five, with a fringe of graying hair, had just returned from his fifth trip to Washington in a little more than a month. —Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025

The man shown on Threads carrying white bags along Woodbury Road is shown in the news footage walking through the front door of the home and is dressed identically in a navy blue hooded sweatshirt and gray athletic pants. —Joedy McCreary, USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective, Noun (1), and Verb

Middle English, from Old English grǣg; akin to Old High German grīs, grāo gray

Noun (2)

Louis H. Gray †1965 British radiobiologist

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (2)

1975, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing gray

• African gray
• gray area
• gray birch
• gray eminence
• gray fox
• gray literature
• gray market
• gray matter
• gray out
• gray rabbitbrush
• gray rat snake
• gray scale
• gray squirrel
• gray water
• gray whale
• gray wolf
• iron gray
• pearl gray
• slate gray

Rhymes for gray

• ay
• bay
• bey
• brae
• cay
• chez
• dey
• dray
• fay
• fey
• flay
• fray

Kids Definition

gray

1 of 2 adjective

variants also grey

ˈgrā

1

: of the color gray

also : dull in color

2

: having gray hair

3

: lacking cheer or brightness : dismal

a gray day

grayness noun

gray

2 of 2 noun

variants also grey

1

: one of the series of neutral colors ranging between black and white

2

: something gray

gray verb

grayish

ˈgrā-ish

adjective

Medical Definition

gray

1 of 2 noun

variants or chiefly British grey

ˈgrā 

: any of a series of neutral colors ranging between black and white

gray adjective

or chiefly British grey

gray

2 of 2 noun

ˈgrā 

: the mks unit of absorbed dose of ionizing radiation equal to an energy of one joule per kilogram of irradiated material

—abbreviation Gy

Biographical Definition

Gray 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

ˈgrā 

Asa 1810–1888 American botanist

Gray

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

Thomas 1716–1771 English poet