Skip to main content
gay

gay

265 3.3
A person who is attracted to people of the same sex
  • noun
  • /ɡeɪ/
translation icon : gay
  • We just had Chris Olson, gay guy, on the couch.
  • gays and lesbians
  • violence against gays
  • gays in the military

Examples

  • Most of my friends were gay guys or straight men.

  • Now, first time you met gay people, what was that like?

  • Well, not all gay people are dead, right?

  • And Blake knows that this guy is gay, so does not care.

  • We know that there will be some gay children in Parkfield.

  • We were the first state to legalize gay marriage by law.

  • But you have gay friends; you and Dad, there were gays at the party.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • They want to just belittle gay people and trans people.

  • Everywhere one looks, gays and lesbians are seemingly visible in the media and on the street.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Many gay men attended the pride parade to celebrate their identities.

Synonyms

homosexual
vsgay
140 4.1

A person who is sexually attracted to people of the same sex

is the common everyday term rather than a clinical label
gay man
vsgay
67 2.7

A man who is attracted to other men

is used for people in general not only men
queer
vsgay
41 7.2

Relating to people whose sexual or gender identity is not straight

is narrower focusing on same-sex attraction rather than broader identities
homosexualist
vsgay
  • Archaic
7.5

A person who is attracted to people of the same sex

is the familiar widely used word rather than a rare technical form
homophile
vsgay
  • NSFW
9.9

A person who is attracted to people of the same sex

is the modern common term not a historical movement label

Antonyms

18 3.4

A person who is attracted to people of the opposite sex

15 4.2

A person attracted to people of the opposite sex

Idioms

9.9

A humorous way to say someone is bisexual now but may become gay later

Compounds

67 2.7

A man who is attracted to other men

38 2.7

Laws and protections that give people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender equal legal treatment

6 2.8

A woman who is romantically or sexually attracted to other women

A campaign to get equal rights for gay people

9.9

A bold, playful way of joking that is loud and cheeky

9.9

A short, rounded fashionable haircut with a neat, even shape often seen in LGBTQ+ culture

gay lib
  • Archaic
7.9

A movement that fights for the rights of people attracted to the same sex

9.9

Ideas linking being gay, race, and politics that want equal money and power

9.9

A plant with tall spikes of small purple flowers that attract butterflies

Gay-Lussac's law
  • Specialized
8.4

The pressure of a gas rises when its temperature rises and its volume stays the same

How Inclusive

LGBT+
4.4
LGBTQ
1 3.5
LGBT
77 3.5
LGB
2 4.8
gay
265 3.3

Surface Forms

gay singular
gays plural

Etymology

Gay as a noun comes from the same history: the old word gai meant 'happy' and then 'sexually free'. Over time people began to call someone a gay when they were attracted to the same sex. So, a gay person is 'a person who is attracted to people of the same sex'.