gay
253
3.3
- noun
- /ɡeɪ/
- We just had Chris Olson, gay guy, on the couch.
- gays and lesbians
- violence against gays
- gays in the military
Examples
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Most of my friends were gay guys or straight men.
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Now, first time you met gay people, what was that like?
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Well, not all gay people are dead, right?
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And Blake knows that this guy is gay, so does not care.
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We know that there will be some gay children in Parkfield.
-
We were the first state to legalize gay marriage by law.
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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.
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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
174
4.1
A person who is sexually attracted to people of the same sex
140
2.7
A man who is attracted to other men
85
7.2
Relating to people whose sexual or gender identity is not straight
1
7.5
A person who is attracted to people of the same sex
1
9.9
A person who is attracted to people of the same sex
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
A humorous way to say someone is bisexual now but may become gay later
Compounds
89
2.7
Laws and protections that give people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender equal legal treatment
A short, rounded fashionable haircut with a neat, even shape often seen in LGBTQ+ culture
- Jargon
Ideas linking being gay, race, and politics that want equal money and power
- Specialized
The pressure of a gas rises when its temperature rises and its volume stays the same
How Inclusive
Surface Forms
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'.