gray

¹

[ grey ]

adjective

, gray·er, gray·est.

1. of a color between white and black; having a neutral hue.
2. dark, dismal, or gloomy:

   gray skies.

3. dull, dreary, or monotonous.
4. having gray hair; gray-headed.
5. pertaining to old age; mature.
6. Informal. pertaining to, involving, or composed of older persons:

   gray households.

7. old or ancient.
8. indeterminate and intermediate in character:

   The tax audit concentrated on deductions in the gray area between purely personal and purely business expenses.

noun

1. any achromatic color; any color with zero chroma, intermediate between white and black.
2. something of this color.
3. gray material or clothing:

   to dress in gray.

4. an unbleached and undyed condition.
5. (often initial capital letter) a member of the Confederate army in the American Civil War or the army itself. Compare blue ( def 5 ).
6. a horse of a gray color.
7. a horse that appears white but is not an albino.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to make or become gray.

gray

²

[ grey ]

noun

, Physics.

1. the standard unit of absorbed dose of radiation (such as x-rays) in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the amount of ionizing radiation absorbed when the energy imparted to matter is 1 J/kg (one joule per kilogram). : Gy

Gray

³

[ grey ]

noun

1. A·sa [ey, -s, uh], 1810–88, U.S. botanist.
2. Robert, 1755–1806, U.S. explorer and sea captain: discovered the Columbia River.
3. Thomas, 1716–71, English poet.

Gray

¹

/ ɡreɪ /

noun

1. GrayThomas17161771MEnglishWRITING: poet Thomas. 1716–71, English poet, best known for his Elegy written in a Country Churchyard (1751)

gray

²

/ ɡreɪ /

adjective

1. a variant spelling (now esp US) of grey

gray

³

/ ɡreɪ /

noun

1. the derived SI unit of absorbed ionizing radiation dose or kerma equivalent to an absorption per unit mass of one joule per kilogram of irradiated material. 1 gray is equivalent to 100 rads Gy

gray

/ grā /

1. The SI derived unit used to measure the energy absorbed by a substance per unit weight of the substance when exposed to radiation. One gray is equal to one joule per kilogram, or 100 rads. The gray is named after British physicist Louis Harold Gray (1905–1965).

Derived Forms

• ˈgrayness, noun
• ˈgrayly, adverb
• ˈgrayish, adjective

Other Words From

• grayly especially British, greyly adverb
• grayness especially British, greyness noun
• un·grayed especially British, un·greyed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gray¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English grei, grai, Old English grǣg, grēg; cognate with German grau, Old Norse grār

Origin of gray²

First recorded in 1975; named in honor of Louis Harold Gray (1905–65), English radiobiologist

Word History and Origins

Origin of gray¹

C20: named after Louis Harold Gray (1905–65), English physicist

Idioms and Phrases

• get gray hair from

Example Sentences

I was not gray before, and I’m definitely gray now.”

From Los Angeles Times

The slew of robberies took place from June through November, when two assailants would approach victims in a gray Ford Focus, police said.

From Los Angeles Times

When the Mountain fire broke out more than two weeks ago, Samuel and Florentino witnessed the all-too familiar hazy, gray sky and the smell of smoke as they harvested strawberries in an Oxnard field.

From Los Angeles Times

The starting point for the proposed Chuckwalla monument is Painted Canyon, an area near the eastern edge of the Coachella Valley where the mountainside is stained deep red, pink, green and gray.

From Los Angeles Times

He greeted me wearing gray felt slippers, green pants and a rust-colored down vest at the door of the large brick home that he had lived in for the past 22 years.

From Salon

Related Words

• drab
• dusty
• grey
• silvery

Gray Vs. Grey

What’s the difference between gray and grey?

Gray and grey are simply different spellings of the same word, which refers to the color halfway between black and white (among other more figurative meanings).

In popular use, the two spellings are used interchangeably, though one spelling is often preferred in many places. The spelling gray is much more common in American English, while grey is more common in British English.

Remember: spell gray with an a in America, and spell grey with an e in England (among other places).

Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between gray and grey.

Quiz yourself on gray vs. grey!

True or False? 

The words gray and grey are always used to refer to slightly different colors.