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APG.American
Pronunciation Guide
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

gay

/ɡeɪ/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
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What does gay mean?

adjective

  1. Only possessing sexual and/or romantic attraction towards people one perceives to be the same sex or gender as oneself.
  2. Of a man, only romantically and/or sexually attracted to other men.
  3. Tending to partner or mate with other individuals of the same sex.
More meanings (29)

adjective

  1. Between two or more persons perceived to be of the same sex or gender as each other.
  2. Not heterosexual, or not cisgender: homosexual, bisexual, asexual, transgender, etc.
  3. Intended for gay people, especially gay men.
  4. (slang) Homosexually in love with someone.
  5. (humorous, slang) Infatuated with something, aligning with homosexual stereotypes.
  6. Being in accordance with stereotypes of gay people, especially gay men.
  7. Exhibiting appearance or behavior that accords with stereotypes of gay people, especially gay men.
  8. Upright or curved over the back.
  9. (derogatory, slang) Flamboyant or effeminate in behavior.
  10. (derogatory, slang) Used to express dislike: lame, uncool, stupid, burdensome, contemptible, generally bad.
  11. (dated) Happy, joyful, and lively.
  12. (dated) Quick, fast.
  13. (dated) Festive, bright, or colourful.
  14. (obsolete) Fair, beautiful, pretty, bonny; elegant, fine.
  15. (obsolete) Sexually promiscuous (of any gender), (sometimes particularly) engaged in prostitution.
  16. (obsolete) Considerable, great, large in number, size, or degree. In this sense, also in the variant gey.

noun

  1. A homosexual, especially a male homosexual.
  2. The letter —, which stands for the sound /ɡ/, in Pitman shorthand.
  3. (derogatory, informal) Gayness: the quality of being gay.
  4. (obsolete) Something which is bright or colorful, such as a picture or a flower.
  5. (obsolete) An ornament, a knick-knack.

verb

  1. To cause (something, e.g. AIDS) to be associated with homosexual people.
  2. (dated) To make happy or cheerful.

adverb

  1. Considerably, very.

proper noun

  1. An English surname transferred from the nickname, originally a nickname for a cheerful or lively person.
  2. A female given name from English, from the word gay (“joyful”); rare today.
  3. A male given name from English.
  4. A male given name transferred from the surname.
  5. A diminutive of the male given names Gaylord and Gabriel, and similar names
Wiktionary contributors Wiktionary contributors

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ɡeɪ/

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

“Because they are no longer gay and innocent and heartless. It is only the gay and innocent and heartless who can fly.”
J. M. (James Matthew) BarriePeter Pan : $b [Peter and Wendy]Project Gutenberg ebook #16
She cowered down by her window and wished, for the first time in her gay young life, that she could die, too.
L. M. (Lucy Maud) MontgomeryAnne of the IslandProject Gutenberg ebook #51
More book examples (3)
Also he perceived with dim amazement that their uniforms were rather gay in effect, being light gray, accented with a brilliant-hued facing.
Stephen CraneThe Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil WarProject Gutenberg ebook #73
A man in the full swing of his activities in a gay city could not afford to linger long on Egdon Heath.
Thomas HardyThe Return of the NativeProject Gutenberg ebook #122
The last time she came up she carried a bundle of the gay tidies that used to hang over the chair backs.
Frank NorrisMcTeague: A Story of San FranciscoProject Gutenberg ebook #165