bay

3
[ bey ]
/ beɪ /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR bay ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

verb (used without object)

to howl, especially with a deep, prolonged sound, as a hound on the scent.

verb (used with object)

to assail with deep, prolonged howling: a troubled hound baying the moon.
to bring to or to hold at bay: A dog bays its quarry.

Origin of bay

3
1250–1300; Middle English, aphetic variant of abay < Anglo-French, dialectal Old French abai barking, noun derivative of abaier to bark, from an imitative base *bay-

Words nearby bay

bawl out, bawn, bawneen, bax, baxter, bay, bay antler, bay city, bay ice, bay islands, bay leaf

Words related to at bay

cornered, treed, carefully

British Dictionary definitions for at bay (1 of 5)

bay 1
/ (beɪ) /

noun

a wide semicircular indentation of a shoreline, esp between two headlands or peninsulas
an extension of lowland into hills that partly surround it
US an extension of prairie into woodland

Word Origin for bay

C14: from Old French baie, perhaps from Old French baer to gape, from Medieval Latin batāre to yawn

British Dictionary definitions for at bay (2 of 5)

bay 2
/ (beɪ) /

noun

Word Origin for bay

C14: from Old French baee gap or recess in a wall, from baer to gape; see bay 1

British Dictionary definitions for at bay (3 of 5)

bay 3
/ (beɪ) /

noun

a deep howl or growl, esp of a hound on the scent
at bay
  1. (of a person or animal) forced to turn and face attackersthe dogs held the deer at bay
  2. at a distanceto keep a disease at bay
bring to bay to force into a position from which retreat is impossible

verb

(intr) to howl (at) in deep prolonged tones
(tr) to utter in a loud prolonged tone
(tr) to drive to or hold at bay

Word Origin for bay

C13: from Old French abaiier to bark, of imitative origin

British Dictionary definitions for at bay (4 of 5)

bay 4
/ (beɪ) /

noun

Also called: bay laurel, sweet bay a small evergreen Mediterranean laurel, Laurus nobilis, with glossy aromatic leaves, used for flavouring in cooking, and small blackish berries See laurel (def. 1)
any of various other trees with strongly aromatic leaves used in cooking, esp a member of the genera Myrica or Pimenta
any of several magnolias See sweet bay
any of certain other trees or shrubs, esp bayberry
(plural) a wreath of bay leaves See laurel (def. 6)

Word Origin for bay

C14: from Old French baie laurel berry, from Latin bāca berry

British Dictionary definitions for at bay (5 of 5)

bay 5
/ (beɪ) /

noun

  1. a moderate reddish-brown colour
  2. (as adjective)a bay horse
an animal of this colour, esp a horse

Word Origin for bay

C14: from Old French bai, from Latin badius

Scientific definitions for at bay

bay
[ bā ]

A body of water partially enclosed by land but having a wide outlet to the sea. A bay is usually smaller than a gulf.
A space in the cabinet of a personal computer where a storage device, such as a disk drive or CD-ROM drive, can be installed.

Idioms and Phrases with at bay (1 of 2)

at bay

Cornered, in distress, as in Angry bystanders chased the thief into an alley and held him at bay until the police arrived. This idiom originally came from hunting, where it describes an animal that has been driven back and now faces pursuing hounds. Its use for other situations dates from the late 1500s.

Idioms and Phrases with at bay (2 of 2)

bay

see at bay.