English - Pronunciation
- enPR: gī, IPA(key): /ɡaɪ/
- Rhymes: -aɪ
English - Etymology 1
Noun
- (obsolete and rare) A guide; a leader or conductor.
- (primarily nautical) A support rope or cable used to guide, steady or secure something which is being hoisted or lowered. Also a support to secure or steady something prone to shift its position or be carried away, e.g. the mast of a ship or a suspension-bridge.
Derived terms
Translations
Verb
guy (third-person singular simple present guys, present participle guying, simple past and past participle guyed)
Translations
English - Etymology 2
Named from Guy Fawkes (1570-1606), an English Catholic hanged for his role in the Gunpowder Plot.
Noun
- (UK) An effigy of a man burned on a bonfire on the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot (5th November).
- (archaic) A person of eccentric appearance or dress.
- (colloquial) A male
- (colloquial, in the plural) people
- (colloquial, of animals and sometimes objects) thing, creature
- (colloquial, technology) thing, unit
- (informal, term of address) Buster, Mack, fella
Usage notes
- In plural, guys is not completely gender-neutral but it may refer to people of either sex in some circumstances and forms; the greeting "Hey guys" can generally refer to people of either gender. This usage is not always seen as accurate or correct. Referring to a group as "guys" usually means a group of men or a mixed-gender group, since describing a group of women as guys, as in "the Pussycat Dolls are a bunch of guys", suggests that they are male, and is generally viewed as incorrect or inaccurate in that usage. In contrast, the all-male band Green Day could accurately be described as "a bunch of guys" in slang. The usage of the plural guys in the phrase "some guys chased them away" would generally be assumed to mean men rather than women.
- When used of animals, guy usually refers to either a male or one whose gender is not known; it is rarely if ever used of an animal that is known to be female.
- In some varieties of US and Canadian English, you guys revives the distinction between a singular and plural you, much like y'all in other varieties.
Synonyms
- (US) (man): dude, fella, homey, bro
- (British) (man): bloke, geezer, cove, fellow, chap
- See also Wikisaurus:man
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations
Verb
guy (third-person singular simple present guys, present participle guying, simple past and past participle guyed)