From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgaygay1 /ɡeɪ/ ●●○ S3 W3 adjective 1 HOMOSEXUALif someone, especially a man, is gay, they are sexually attracted to people of the same sex SYN homosexual, → straight, lesbian the gay community in London gay men and lesbians a gay bar a campaigner for gay rights (=equal treatment for gay people)2 old-fashionedCC bright or attractive gay colours3 old-fashionedHAPPY cheerful and excited She felt excited and quite gay.4 → with gay abandon5 informal stupid or not good. Some people think that this word is offensive.That was a gay thing to do! —gayness noun [uncountable] → gaily, gaiety
Examples from the Corpus
gay• He didn't even realize that Elton John was gay!• Gay and lesbian couples should be eligible for the same health benefits as married heterosexual couples.• The White House announcement drew bitter reaction from the gay community.• Kirkland is an especially popular figure in the gay community.• the gay community• Yet in many urban gay male settings, life is segregated by age to an almost astonishing degree.• As a gay man I find your sudden input of gay advertising patronising.• Frankie, a pleasure-chasing group led by out-front gay men had become family entertainers.• But once I got into this set of gay men, it took over my social life almost completely.• There are very few gay men on television.• Many of the Catholics of this city are gay or lesbian citizens.• Thousands of people attended the Gay Pride march in Brighton last weekend.• The gay protagonist gets shot in the end.• I went to my first gay pub.• The president's record with gay rights groups has been good.gay community• This clause provoked considerable anger amongst the gay community and some concern amongst local authorities.• Some people, even within the lesbian and gay community, are opposed to the idea of gay marriage.• Perhaps the most promising example of this kind of institution is the gay community center.• The Tyrone man, a member of Belfast's gay community, died from multiple injuries and stab wounds.• Censorship will continue to threaten Britain's lesbian and gay communities from within as well as from without.• The masses of the gay community love those characters.• Inevitably, there has been an increased distrust of party politics in the lesbian and gay communities since the Clause debacle.• No one should get the impression from this that Rotherham had taken the gay community to its bosom.gaygay2 ●○○ noun [countable] HOMOSEXUALsomeone who is homosexual, especially a manExamples from the Corpus
gay• The Labour movement might not be a home for lesbians and gays, but it was certainly no longer enemy territory.• The prayers on behalf of lesbians and gays had been quietly halted a few months earlier.• The sun burned with steady fury on the gaggle of gays at the Rambles in Central Park.• We don't see gays being beaten to death in our country because of their sexuality.• Placard-wise, however, the gays have some way to go.• Yet gays turning to churches and other institutions for help all too often were told not to worry.Origin gay1 (1200-1300) Old French gai “happy” 