grey

adjective

less common spelling of gray

1

a

: of the color gray

b

: tending toward gray

blue-gray eyes

c

: dull in color

2

: having gray hair

grew old and gray

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

Usage of Gray and Grey

Gray and grey are both accepted spellings. Gray is more frequent in US English, while grey is preferred in Canada, the UK, and elsewhere.

Examples of grey in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The once grey industrial city has been transformed by the presence of the Guggenheim Museum and now boasts one of Spain’s most expansive filming incentives. —Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 14 Nov. 2025

In other words, the company didn’t create genetic hybrids from dire wolf and grey wolf DNA. —JSTOR Daily, 13 Nov. 2025

Normally, that’s a sign to a hockey player that your value is declining, but on the Mammoth, those grey hairs are a sign of value. —Arpon Basu, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025

Those grey-blue eyes were blanks. —Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 10 Nov. 2025

Rhymes for grey

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

Kids Definition

grey

variant of gray

Medical Definition

grey, greyout

chiefly British variant of gray, grayout

Biographical Definition

Grey 1 of 4

biographical name (1)

ˈgrā 

2nd Earl 1764–1845 Charles Grey English statesman; prime minister (1830–34)

Grey

2 of 4

biographical name (2)

Sir Edward 1862–1933 Viscount Grey of Fallodon ˈfa-lə-dᵊn  English politician

Grey

3 of 4

biographical name (3)

Lady Jane 1537–1554 titular queen of England for 9 days

Grey

4 of 4

biographical name (4)

Zane 1875–1939 American novelist