bay
/ˈbeɪ̯/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.73 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A body of water (especially the sea) contained by a concave shoreline.
noun
A tree or shrub of species Laurus nobilis (family Lauraceae), having dark green leaves and berries.
Countable
noun
Bay leaf, the leaf of this or certain other species of tree or shrub, used as a herb.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "This hotel has a great view across the bay."
- "'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed."
- "both you here with many a cursed oth, / Sweare she is yours, and stirre vp bloudie frayes, / To win a willow bough, whilest other weares the bayes."
- "The patriot's honours and the poet's bays."
- "Wrex: And Shepard--I like what you've done with the Normandy. Got tired of always hanging around the cargo bay before."
- "A “moving platform” scheme[…]is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails. Local trains would use side-by-side rails to roll alongside intercity trains and allow passengers to switch trains by stepping through docking bays."
Etymology
Etymology tree Iberiander. Late Latin baiader.? French baieder. English bay From French baie, from Late Latin baia, probably ultimately from Iberian or Basque badia. Partly displaced native Old English byht, whence bight.
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbeɪ̯/
- British English: /ˈbeɪ̯/
Usage
Inflected Forms
bays (plural)
bays (present, singular)
baying (participle, present)
bayed (participle, past)
bayed (past)
bayer (comparative)
more bay (comparative)
bayest (superlative)
most bay (superlative)
the Bay (canonical)