grey

¹

[ grey ]

adjective

, grey·er, grey·est,

1. Chiefly British. a variant of gray ¹.

Grey

²

[ grey ]

noun

1. Charles, 2nd Earl, 1764–1845, British statesman: prime minister 1830–34.
2. Sir Edward Viscount Fallodon, 1862–1933, British statesman.
3. Sir George, 1812–98, British statesman and colonial administrator: prime minister of New Zealand 1877–79.
4. Lady Jane Lady Jane Dudley, 1537–54, descendant of Henry VII of England; executed under orders of Mary I to eliminate her as a rival for the throne.
5. Zane [zeyn], 1875–1939, U.S. novelist.

grey

¹

/ ɡreɪ /

adjective

1. of a neutral tone, intermediate between black and white, that has no hue and reflects and transmits only a little light
2. greyish in colour or having parts or marks that are greyish
3. dismal or dark, esp from lack of light; gloomy
4. neutral or dull, esp in character or opinion
5. having grey hair
6. of or relating to people of middle age or above

   grey power

7. ancient; venerable
8. (of textiles) natural, unbleached, undyed, and untreated

noun

1. any of a group of grey tones
2. grey cloth or clothing

   dressed in grey

3. an animal, esp a horse, that is grey or whitish

verb

1. to become or make grey

Grey

²

/ ɡreɪ /

noun

1. GreyCharles, 2nd Earl Grey17641845MBritishPOLITICS: statesmanPOLITICS: prime minister Charles, 2nd Earl Grey. 1764–1845, British statesman. As Whig prime minister (1830–34), he carried the Reform Bill of 1832 and the bill for the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire (1833)
2. GreySir Edward, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon18621933MBritishPOLITICS: statesman Sir Edward, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon. 1862–1933, British statesman; foreign secretary (1905–16)
3. GreySir George18121898MBritishPOLITICS: statesmanPOLITICS: colonial administrator Sir George. 1812–98, British statesman and colonial administrator; prime minister of New Zealand (1877–79)
4. GreyJane, Lady15371554FEnglishPOLITICS: hereditary ruler Lady Jane. 1537–54, queen of England (July 9–19, 1553); great-granddaughter of Henry VII. Her father-in-law, the Duke of Northumberland, persuaded Edward VI to alter the succession in her favour, but after ten days as queen she was imprisoned and later executed
5. GreyZane18751939MUSWRITING: author of Westerns Zane. 1875–1939, US author of Westerns, including Riders of the Purple Sage (1912)

Derived Forms

• ˈgreyly, adverb
• ˈgreyish, adjective
• ˈgreyness, noun

Other Words From

• greyly adverb
• greyness noun
• un·greyed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of grey¹

Old English grǣg; related to Old High German grāo, Old Norse grar

Idioms and Phrases

see gray .

Example Sentences

In place of the filtered ad will be a grey square, with the label “ad removed.”

From Digiday

And, they said, it’s unclear whether an ad subject to an “intervention” — but rendered as a grey box on the page — would still count as an impression on Google Ad Manager.

From Digiday

What should be happening and what is actually working are two different things that have created somewhat of a loophole and a grey area for SEO.

From Search Engine Watch

“There are significant grey areas that are open to interpretation and require clarification from Apple,” said Matt Barash, svp of strategy and business development at mobile advertising company AdColony.

From Digiday

Grey also noted that parents have inquired about adding their kids to a district learning-only model and she plans to share the process for anyone interested when the district communicates the final reopening plan at the end of the month.

From Voice of San Diego

Lacey Noonan's A Gronking to Remember makes 50 Shades of Grey look like Madame Bovary in terms of its literary sophistication.

From The Daily Beast

Artists Under Hitler successfully manages to add some grey to the generally black-and-white conversation about Nazis and art.

From The Daily Beast

The acts Grey performs on Steele are all popular among BDSM enthusiasts.

From The Daily Beast

We sat in rows of grey steel fold out chairs that faced a model of the compound in Abbottabad.

From The Daily Beast

Here, only the twisting grey concrete under his tires disturbed the desolate wild.

From The Daily Beast

Why not have sought out the pure white lime-rocks of the flat country, or the grey granite of the hills?

From Project Gutenberg

The handkerchief glimmered on the counter, more white than anything else in that grey dusk.

From Project Gutenberg

The Spanish men-of-war, which were always painted white, had their colour changed to dark grey like the American ships.

From Project Gutenberg

It seemed; it truly seemed as if the tide of blue, grey, scarlet specks was submerging the enemy's strongholds.

From Project Gutenberg

She turned her gaze away from the mirror, and saw Sarah's grey head inadvertently nodding, as it always nodded.

From Project Gutenberg

Grey Vs. Gray

What’s the difference between grey and gray?

Grey and gray 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 grey is more common in British English, while gray is much more common in American 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 grey and gray.

Quiz yourself on grey vs. gray!

True or False?

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