guy

noun \ ˈgī \

Updated on: 28 Feb 2018

Definition of guy

1 a : man, fellow

b : person —used in plural to refer to the members of a group regardless of sex

saw her and the rest of the guys

2 : individual, creature

the other dogs pale in companion to this little guy

3 often capitalized : a grotesque effigy of Guy Fawkes traditionally displayed and burned in England on Guy Fawkes Day

4 chiefly British : a person of grotesque appearance

Did You Know?

In England, November 5—Guy Fawkes Day—is celebrated by setting off fireworks and lighting bonfires. Human likenesses made of tattered clothes stuffed with hay or rags are burned on the bonfires. The day is named after a 17thcentury man, Guy Fawkes, who led a plot to blow up the British Parliament buildings. Fawkes managed to hide 20 barrels of gunpowder in the cellars of the buildings. However, the plot was discovered before he could carry out his plans. He was seized and later put to death. The human likenesses burned on the fi res came to be called guys. The verb guy “to ridicule” is derived from this story also. The use of the word was extended to similar figures and then to a person of strange appearance or dress. In the US, the word came to mean simply “man” and in time “a person of either sex.”

Origin and Etymology of guy

Guy Fawkes

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1806

See Words from the same year

guy

noun

Definition of guy

: a rope, chain, rod, or wire attached to something as a brace or guide — called also guyline

Origin and Etymology of guy

probably from Dutch gei brail

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1623

See Words from the same year

guy

verb

Definition of guy

transitive verb

: to steady or reinforce with a guy

First Known Use of guy

1712

guy

verb

Definition of guy

transitive verb

: to make fun of : ridicule

First Known Use of guy

1854

GUY Defined for Kids

guy

noun \ ˈgī \

Definition of guy for Students

1 : ¹fellow 1

2 : person 1

History for guy

On November 4, 1605, a man named Guy Fawkes was arrested in London for having planted barrels of gunpowder under the houses of Parliament as part of a plot to blow up the buildings. The failure of this conspiracy is still celebrated in England on the evening of November 5, Guy Fawkes Day. One custom of this holiday was to burn rag and straw images of Guy Fawkes, known as guys, on bonfires. Later, the word guy was extended to similar images, and then to a person of grotesque appearance. In the United States, the word has come to mean simply “man,” “fellow,” or “person.”