gray

Pluralgrays

Formsgrays, graying, grayed

1. 1
   ash-coloredadjective

   Of the color of ash or lead, a neutral shade lying between black and white.

   He chose a gray suit for the job interview.

   The old church had thick gray stone walls and tall, narrow windows.

   UsageGray is the American spelling; grey is the usual British one.

   Similargrey, grayish, greyish

   Note

   The color sense that nearly every other meaning grows from; the radiation unit, named for Louis Harold Gray, is the exception. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The radiation unit is named for Louis Harold Gray and has a separate origin from the color word. en.wikipedia.org
2. 2
   ash-colorednouncountable or uncountable

   Any neutral color without hue that falls in the range between black and white.

   This shade of gray works well for a calm bedroom.

   Designers often favor cool grays in modern offices.

3. 3
   unclearadjective

   Falling in an unclear middle zone where quality or acceptability is uncertain or disputed.

   The ethics of the experiment remained gray for years.

   Tax law in this region is famously gray and open to argument.

   UsageMost often in a gray area.

   Similarvague, unclear, ambiguous, uncertain, fuzzy

   Oppositeclear, clear-cut, unambiguous

4. 4
   gloomyadjective

   Dreary, gloomy, or overcast.

   November brought one gray afternoon after another.

   The town felt gray and lifeless after the factory closed.

   Similargloomy, dreary, dismal, bleak, dark

   Oppositebright, sunny, cheerful

   Note

   The color moves from the sky to mood, and from mood to whole stretches of time. Daniel C. Gerould's Witkiewicz collection, The Beelzebub Sonata (1980), has "the era of gray, boring banality and stagnation," where gray keeps company with words for monotony. Bleak, its near neighbor, suggests harshness; gray suggests sameness, an absence of color rather than its cruelty. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • Daniel C. Gerould edited a collection of Witkiewicz's writings titled The Beelzebub Sonata. en.wikipedia.org
   • The collection contains the quoted wording. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   white hairadjective

   Having gray hair with age; old; or relating to older people as a group.

   The gray old sailor told stories from his youth.

   She went completely gray by the age of fifty.

   UsageOften with go or turn: she went gray; his hair turned gray.

   Similargrizzled, silver, old, aged

6. 6
   verbtransitive or intransitive

   To become gray, or make something gray, especially as hair loses its color with age; of a population, to grow older on average.

   Most people start to gray sometime in their forties.

   The old shingles had grayed under decades of sun and salt air.

   UsageOften with begin to or start to: hair starting to gray; wood has grayed.

   Similarage, whiten

7. 7
   nouncountable

   Any gray animal or object, for example a gray horse, badger, or salmon.

   She entered her favorite gray in the county show.

   The anglers landed several grays before noon.

Showing meanings only. Show all 12