Meaning

6 senses

  1. (US)Of a color between black and white, having neutral hue and intermediate brightness.

    grau

    се́рыйséryj, седо́йsedój, си́выйsívyj

    сі́рийsíryj

    of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black

  2. (US, figuratively, sometimes)Dreary, gloomy, cloudy.

    grau

    се́рыйséryj

  3. (US)Of indistinct, disputed or uncertain quality or acceptability.

  4. (US)Gray-haired.

    I have already gone gray and lost my looks.

  5. (US)Old.

  6. (US)Relating to older people.

    the gray dollar

Examples

260 sentences

  1. Tom is wearing a gray suit and a red tie.

    На Томі сірий костюм та червона краватка. — deniko

    ruНа Томе серый костюм с красным галстуком. — kurzawhile

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · A2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  2. He had gray hair.

    У нього було сиве волосся. — brambury

    ruУ него были седые волосы. — afyodor

    deEr hatte graues Haar. — Hans_Adler

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · A1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  3. The sky was gray.

    Небо було сіре. — deniko

    ruНебо было серым. — Selena777

    deDer Himmel war grau. — Pfirsichbaeumchen

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · A1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  4. Tom has gray hair.

    Том має сиве волосся. — Ahha

    ruТом седой. — Wezel

    deTom hat graues Haar. — dasbeispielholz

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · A2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  5. Does Tom have gray hair?

    У Тома сиве волосся? — deniko

    ruУ Тома седые волосы? — marafon

    deHat Tom graue Haare? — Pfirsichbaeumchen

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · A1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 1
of a color somewhere between white and black, like cinders:
Русский
By meaning 1
of a color somewhere between white and black, like cinders:
Deutsch
By meaning 1
of a color somewhere between white and black, like cinders:

Origin

From Middle English gray, from Old English grǣġ (West Saxon). The spelling gray reflects t

From Middle English gray, from Old English grǣġ (West Saxon). The spelling gray reflects the West Saxon vowel development, whereas the variant grey stems from the Anglian form grēġ (through Middle English grey). Further derived from Proto-West Germanic *grāu, from Proto-Germanic *grēwaz (“grey”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰreh₁- (“to green, to grow”).

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

grayer/more gray, grayest/most gray
Comparativegrayer / more gray Lesson
Superlativegrayest / most gray Lesson

regular

Synonyms

118 synonyms
sombreC1darkA1depressingB1dismalC1forlornC2gloomyB2grimB2melancholyC2miserableB1unhappyA2ambiguousB2indefiniteC1uncertainA2unclearB1
Close in meaning
  • of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black:greygreyishgrayish
  • intermediate in character or position:grey
  • used to signify the Confederate forces in the American Civil War (who wore grey uniforms):grey
  • showing characteristics of age, especially having grey or white hair:greygrey-hairedgray-hairedgrey-headedgray-headedgrizzlyhoarhoary

Word family

68 related words
Relatedgrayness
Derivedash grayback grayblackish-gray antshrikeblue-graycool graydapple-graygray acegray ammoniagray angelfishgray areagray asexualgray asexualitygray-bluegraybodygray catbirdgray ceilinggray-collargray commissuregray cuscusgray divorcegray dogwoodgray eminencegray energygray ephedra

Lessons for this word

2 lessons

Collocations

6 patterns
  • wearing a gray
  • gray hair
  • a gray suit
  • has gray hair
  • turned gray
  • gray suit

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
gravitationalC2gravitygravyB1grayishgrazegrease

Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.

gray — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto