gay

UK: /ˈɡeɪ/ US: /geɪ/ ,(gā)

Inflections of 'gay' (adj):

gayer

adj comparative

gayest

adj superlative

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

gay /geɪ/   adj., -er, -est, n. 
adj. 

1. having or showing a merry, lively mood:
   in gay spirits.
2. bright, showy, or attractive:
   gay colors.
3. [often: be + ~] homosexual.
4. indicating or relating to homosexual interests or issues:
   [before a noun] a gay organization.

n. [countable]

5. a homosexual person, esp. a male.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

gay  (gā), adj., -er, -est, n., adv. 
adj. 

1. having or showing a merry, lively mood:
   gay spirits; gay music.
2. bright or showy:
   gay colors; gay ornaments.
3. given to or abounding in social or other pleasures:
   a gay social season.
4. licentious;
   dissipated;
   wanton:
   The baron is a gay old rogue with an eye for the ladies.
5. homosexual.
6. of, indicating, or supporting homosexual interests or issues:
   a gay organization.

n. 

7. a homosexual person, esp. a male.

adv. 

8. in a gay manner.

• Gmc; compare Old High German gāhi fast, sudden
• Old French
• 1275–1325; 1950–55 for def. 5; Middle English gai

gay′ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. gleeful, jovial, glad, joyous, happy, cheerful, sprightly, blithe, airy, light-hearted; vivacious, frolicsome, sportive, hilarious.
  Gay, jolly, joyful, merry describe a happy or light-hearted mood.
  Gay suggests a lightness of heart or liveliness of mood that is openly manifested:
  when hearts were young and gay.
  Jolly indicates a good-humored, natural, expansive gaiety of mood or disposition:
  a jolly crowd at a party.
  Joyful suggests gladness, happiness, rejoicing:
  joyful over the good news.
  Merry is often interchangeable with gay:
  a merry disposition; a merry party;
  
  it suggests, even more than the latter, convivial animated enjoyment.
• 2. brilliant.

Antonyms

• 1. unhappy, mournful.

Usage

In addition to its original and continuing senses of "merry, lively'' and "bright or showy,'' gay has had various senses dealing with sexual conduct since the 17th century. A gay woman was a prostitute, a gay man a womanizer, a gay house a brothel. This sexual world included homosexuals too, and gay as an adjective meaning "homosexual'' goes back at least to the early 1900s. After World War II, as social attitudes toward sexuality began to change, gay was applied openly by homosexuals to themselves, first as an adjective and later as a noun. Today, the noun often designates only a male homosexual:
gays and lesbians.
The word has ceased to be slang and is not used disparagingly. Homosexual as a noun is sometimes used only in reference to a male.

Gay  (gā), n. 

1. Biographical John, 1685–1732, English poet and dramatist.
2. a female or male given name.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

gay / ɡeɪ/ adjective

1. homosexual
2. of or for homosexuals: a gay club
3. carefree and merry: a gay temperament
4. brightly coloured; brilliant: a gay hat
5. given to pleasure, esp in social entertainment: a gay life

noun

1. a homosexual person

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French gai, from Old Provençal, of Germanic origin

ˈgayness noun

USAGE
The use of gay as a noun is considered offensive in most contextsUSAGE
Gayness is the word used to refer to homosexuality. The noun which refers to being carefree and merry is gaiety

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Gay / ɡeɪ/ noun

1. John. 1685–1732, English poet and dramatist; author of The Beggar's Opera (1728)