2 ADJ You use grey to describe the colour of people's hair when it changes from its original colour, usually as they get old. □ …my grey hair. □ Eddie was going grey.
3 ADJ If the weather is grey , there are many clouds in the sky and the light is dull. □ It was a grey, wet April Sunday. ● grey|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ …winter's greyness.
4 ADJ If you describe a situation as grey , you mean that it is dull, unpleasant, or difficult. □ Brazilians look gloomily forward to a New Year that even the president admits will be grey and cheerless. ● grey|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ In this new world of greyness there is an attempt to remove all risks.
5 ADJ If you describe someone or something as grey , you think that they are boring and unattractive, and very similar to other things or other people. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ …little grey men in suits. ● grey|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ Journalists are frustrated by his apparent greyness.
6 ADJ Journalists sometimes use grey to describe things concerning old people. □ There was further evidence of grey consumer power last week, when Ford revealed a car designed with elderly people in mind.
grey area (grey areas ) in AM, use gray area N‑COUNT If you refer to something as a grey area , you mean that it is unclear, for example because nobody is sure how to deal with it or who is responsible for it, or it falls between two separate categories of things. □ At the moment, the law on compensation is very much a grey area. □ …that gray area between blue-collar laborers and white-collar professionals.
grey|hound /gre I haʊnd/ (greyhounds ) N‑COUNT A greyhound is a dog with a thin body and long thin legs, which can run very fast. Greyhounds sometimes run in races and people bet on them.
grey|ing /gre I I ŋ/ in AM, use graying ADJ [usu ADJ n] If someone has greying hair, there is a lot of grey hair mixed with the person's natural colour. □ He was a smallish, greying man, with a wrinkly face.
grey|ish /gre I I ʃ/ in AM, use grayish ADJ Greyish means slightly grey in colour. □ The building was of greyish plaster and looked old. ● ADJ Greyish is also a combining form. □ …greyish-green leaves.
grey ma r|ket (grey markets ) in AM, use gray market 1 N‑SING [oft N n] Grey market goods are bought unofficially and then sold to customers at lower prices than usual. [BUSINESS ] □ Grey-market perfumes and toiletries are now commonly sold by mail.
2 N‑SING [oft N n] Grey market shares are sold to investors before they have been officially issued. [BUSINESS ] □ At one point last week shares in the grey market touched 230p.
gre y mat|ter in AM, use gray matter N‑UNCOUNT You can refer to your intelligence or your brains as grey matter . [INFORMAL ] □ …an unsolved mathematical equation which has caused his grey matter to work overtime.
grid /gr I d/ (grids )
1 N‑COUNT A grid is something which is in a pattern of straight lines that cross over each other, forming squares. On maps the grid is used to help you find a particular thing or place. □ [+ of ] …a grid of ironwork. □ [+ of ] …a grid of narrow streets. □ Many canals were built along map grid lines.
2 → see also cattle grid
3 N‑COUNT A grid is a network of wires and cables by which sources of power, such as electricity, are distributed throughout a country or area. □ …breakdowns in communications and electric power grids.
4 N‑COUNT The grid or the starting grid is the starting line on a car-racing track. □ At last the drivers were on the grid.
grid|dle /gr I d ə l/ (griddles ) N‑COUNT A griddle is a round, flat, heavy piece of metal which is placed on a cooker or fire and used for cooking.
grid|iron /gr I da I ə r n/ N‑UNCOUNT American football is sometimes referred to as gridiron . [AM ] □ …the greatest quarterback in gridiron history.
grid|lock /gr I dlɒk/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Gridlock is the situation that exists when all the roads in a particular place are so full of vehicles that none of them can move. □ The streets are wedged solid with near-constant traffic gridlock.
2 N‑UNCOUNT You can use gridlock to refer to a situation in an argument or dispute when neither side is prepared to give in, so no agreement can be reached. □ He agreed that these policies will lead to gridlock in the future.
grief /griː f/ (griefs )
1 N‑VAR Grief is a feeling of extreme sadness. □ [+ for ] …a huge outpouring of national grief for the victims of the shootings. □ Their grief soon gave way to anger.
2 PHRASE If something comes to grief , it fails. If someone comes to grief , they fail in something they are doing, and may be hurt. □ So many marriages have come to grief over lack of money. □ He was driving a Mercedes racer at 100 mph and almost came to grief.
3 EXCLAM Some people say ' Good grief ' when they are surprised or shocked. [FEELINGS ] □ 'He's been arrested for theft and burglary.'—'Good grief!'
gri ef-stricken ADJ If someone is grief-stricken, they are extremely sad about something that has happened. [FORMAL ] □ …the grief-stricken family. □ The Queen was grief-stricken over his death.
griev|ance /griː v ə ns/ (grievances ) N‑VAR If you have a grievance about something that has happened or been done, you believe that it was unfair. □ They had a legitimate grievance. □ The main grievance of the drivers is the imposition of higher fees for driving licences. □ …a deep sense of grievance.