AskDefine | Define guy

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Dictionary Definition

guy

Noun

1 an informal term for a youth or man; "a nice guy"; "the guy's only doing it for some doll" [syn: cat, hombre, bozo]
2 an effigy of Guy Fawkes that is burned on a bonfire on Guy Fawkes Day
3 a rope or cable that is used to brace something (especially a tent) [syn: guy cable, guy rope]

Verb

1 subject to laughter or ridicule; "The satirists ridiculed the plans for a new opera house"; "The students poked fun at the inexperienced teacher"; "His former students roasted the professor at his 60th birthday" [syn: ridicule, roast, blackguard, laugh at, jest at, rib, make fun, poke fun]
2 steady or support with with a guy wire or cable; "The Italians guyed the Tower of Pisa to prevent it from collapsing"

User Contributed Dictionary

see Guy

English

Pronunciation

  • , /gaɪ/, /gaI/
  • Rhymes with: -aɪ

Etymology 1

Probably of Low German origin; compare Dutch gei ‘brail’, German Geitau ‘clew-line’.

Noun

  1. A support cable used to guide, steady or secure something.

Etymology 2

Named from Guy Fawkes (1570-1606), an English Catholic hanged for his role in the Gunpowder Plot.

Noun

  1. An effigy of a man burned on a bonfire on the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot (5th November).
  2. A man
    A new guy started at the office today.
    Jane considers that guy to be very good looking.
Usage notes
  • In plural guys is not completely gender-neutral but it can refer to people of either sex in some circumstances and forms
  • Hey guys can generally refer to any gender, as a greeting in its plural form
  • But this usage is not always seen as accurate or correct. Describing a group of women as guys, as in the Pussycat Dolls are a bunch of guys suggests they are male in that usage and is generally seen as incorrect or inaccurate. In contrast the band Green day could be accurately 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
  • It seems the plural guys like the sigular guy mainly refers to men or the male gender, with some exceptions
  • In US English you guys attempts to revive the distinction between a singular and plural you'' to avoid confusion between the two uses.
Translations
man
in plural: people
Synonyms

Verb

  1. To exhibit an effigy of Guy Fawkes around the 5th November.
  2. To make fun of, to ridicule with wit or innuendo.
    • 2003: Swift and other satirists mercilessly guyed the unlettered self-importance of the peddlars of such soul-food, exposing their humility and self-laceration as an egregious and obnoxious form of self-advertisement (s'excuser, c'est s'accuser). — Roy Porter, Flesh in the Age of Reason (Penguin 2004, p. 278)

Extensive Definition

Guy or Guys may refer to:
  • Man, in slang
  • "Guys", a group of two or more people, originally used to refer to groups of males, now commonly used to refer to any groups, although the singular "guy" might not be used to refer to an individual female
  • In Britain, a "guy" is an effigy of Guy Fawkes, who tried to blow up the British Parliament in 1605. See also Guy Fawkes Night.

People

Given name

Surname

Fictional people

  • Guy (Final Fight), a character from the Final Fight and Street Fighter games by Capcom
  • Sir Guy of Gisborne, a villain in the Robin Hood legend
  • Guy Montag, character in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451
  • Guy Smiley, the host of various game shows on the children's show Sesame Street
  • Might Guy, alternately known as Maito Gai (Japanese pronunciation), a character from Naruto

Places

In the United States:

Transport

Other uses

See also

guy in German: Guy
guy in French: Guy
guy in Korean: 가이
guy in Dutch: Guy
guy in Japanese: ガイ
guy in Swedish: Guy

Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words

Adamite, advocate, alpenstock, arm, athletic supporter, back, backbone, backing, bandeau, bastard, bearer, being, bird, bloke, body, boy, bra, brace, bracer, bracket, brassiere, buck, bugger, buttress, cane, caricature, carrier, cat, cervix, chap, character, corset, creature, crook, crutch, customer, duck, dude, earthling, feller, fellow, foundation garment, fulcrum, gazebo, gee, geezer, gent, gentleman, girdle, groundling, guywire, hand, he, head, homo, human, human being, individual, jasper, jock, jockstrap, joker, lad, lampoon, life, living soul, mainstay, maintainer, make fun of, man, mast, mock, mortal, neck, nose, one, party, person, personage, personality, poke fun at, prop, reinforce, reinforcement, reinforcer, rest, resting place, rib, ridicule, rigging, satirize, send up, shoulder, shroud, single, somebody, someone, soul, spine, sprit, staff, standing rigging, stave, stay, stick, stiffener, strengthener, stud, support, supporter, sustainer, take off, tellurian, terran, upholder, walking stick, worldling, youth
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