From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgreygrey1 British English, gray American English /ɡreɪ/ ●●● S2 W2 adjective 1 colourCC having the colour of dark clouds, neither black nor white an old lady with grey hair a grey skydark/light grey dark grey trousers → battleship grey, iron-grey, → slate grey at slate1(3)2 hairDCB having grey hairgo/turn grey She was a tall thin woman who had gone grey early.3 faceFRIGHTENEDTIRED looking pale because you are tired, frightened, or illgrey with As he listened, his face went grey with shock.4 boringBORING boring and unattractive OPP colourful the grey anonymous men in government offices visions of a grey and empty world5 weather if the weather is grey, the sky is full of clouds and the sun is not bright OPP bright a grey day6 of old peopleSS [only before noun] British English connected with old people the grey vote7 → grey area —greyness noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
grey• By the time he'd finished shifting the chairs, he was wearing grey gloves and a wig.• A takeover was under way by the grey men and the only ones who survived it were the grey people.• Immature grey on head and neck with smaller grey ear tufts.• the grey power movement in Britain• He went over to the grey shapes that had been silently watching throughout.• A large grey stone mansion, surrounded by rhododendrons.• The grey tenements walled in the space completely.• Conservatives have started to realize that they cannot take the grey vote for granted.• It was a grey winter morning.dark/light grey• The darker grey cravat made his eyes look bluer, his skin more tanned.• But Paula, dressed in light grey leggings, sweatshirt and a blue denim jacket, looks as cool as a cucumber.• She was blocky under her dark grey muu-muu.• It was a pretty worn dark grey one, but it fit him all right.• The interior styling is sombre; apart from the headlining and plush seat facings everything is either dark grey or black.• She had pinned a bunch of violets on her bonnet and put new, light grey ribbons on it.• I put on a dark grey suit with a fine stripe, a grey woollen tie and a soft white shirt.• Oxford mixture, dark grey woollen cloth.go/turn grey• And that is the moment when you begin to decide what you are going to do about going grey.• Britain became an elderly nation before others started to turn grey.• For example: Joan is going grey.• When had her hair gone grey?• If you are going grey, don't try to recapture the dark brown you were 20 years ago.• Many women who go grey early maintain the looks that belong to their real age by having their hair colour-rinsed.• And what about our attitudes to beauty: will you go grey or would you rather dye?• Anna Thomson Jane Green, 25, has been slowly going grey since she was 20. greygrey2 British English, gray American English ●●● S3 W3 noun [countable, uncountable]CC the colour of dark clouds, neither black nor white Do you have these skirts in grey? dull greys and brownsExamples from the Corpus
grey• Cool grey was also used to shade the face and hair.• Overhead a seagull circled the treetops, pale feathers shining against the dark grey of a flat sky.• We will watch the pigeons pass from grey to white, suddenly twitched, like a Venetian blind in the other bedroom.• Anna Thomson Jane Green, 25, has been slowly going grey since she was 20.greygrey3 British English, gray American English verb [intransitive]DCB if someone greys, their hair becomes grey Jim was greying a little at the temples. a full head of greying hair→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
grey• The dark hair was greying at the sides, but these days some guys do it with a brush.• He was a powerfully built man, over six feet tall with sleek black hair greying at the temples.From Longman Business Dictionarygreygrey /greɪ/ especially British English, gray American English adjective [only before a noun]ECONOMICSCOMMERCE grey trade involves buying goods from someone abroad who is not an official supplier and selling them at a price which is lower than that charged for goods from an official supplierthe grey trade in some prescription drugsa directive stating that retailers can buy grey goods from unauthorised suppliers within the European Union 