1
: an animal that is a reddish-brown color : a bay (see bay entry 1) animal
specifically
: a horse with a bay-colored body and black mane, tail, and points (see point entry 1 sense 6b(3)) compare chestnut entry 1 sense 4, sorrel entry 1 sense 1
2
: a reddish brown
1
architecture
: a principal compartment of the walls, roof, or other part of a building or of the whole building
… the transverse arches and adjacent piers of the arcade divide the building into bays …—
Helen Gardner
Helen Gardner2
architecture
: a main division of a structure
a barn with three bays
3
: any of various compartments or sections used for a special purpose (as in an airplane, spacecraft, or gas station)
a bomb bay
a cargo bay
5
: a support or housing for electronic equipment
bayed; baying; bays
1
: to bark with prolonged tones
dogs baying at the moon
2
: to cry out : shout
a baying crowd
1
: to bark at
dogs baying the moon
2
: to bring to the position of one unable to retreat and forced to face danger : to bring to bay (see bay entry 5 sense 2)
hounds baying a fox
3
: to pursue with barking
… dogs baying and driving him up a tree …—Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin4
: to utter in deep prolonged tones
1
: an instance of a dog barking with prolonged tones : a baying (see bay entry 4 sense 1) of dogs
followed the trail in full bay
2
: the position of one unable to retreat and forced to face danger
brought the boar to bay
3
: the position of one checked
police kept the rioters at bay
often attributive
1
: an inlet of the sea or other body of water usually smaller than a gulf
2
: a small body of water set off from the main body
3
: any of various terrestrial formations resembling a bay of the sea
a bay of prairie
1
botany
a
Examples of bay in a Sentence
Noun (2)
the garage has three separate bays for cars
Verb
the mob was baying for revenge
the lonesome beagle bayed whenever someone walked by
Noun (4)
the bay is a favorite cruising ground for weekend yachtsmen
Noun (5)
he wrote for his own personal satisfaction, not for any bays that the literary establishment might deign to bestow
Recent Examples on the Web
al, 29 June 2022
In its back-bays study, the corps imagines protecting Absecon Island, which is divvied up between Atlantic City and three other towns, with a storm-surge barrier and a cross-bay barrier along with connections to levees and flood walls.
—New York Times, 13 Aug. 2021
Miami Herald Hurricane Bot, Miami Herald, 29 Oct. 2025
Municipal waste and recycling collected from homes and businesses in the area are received by the transfer station and temporarily stored in separate bays before recycling is moved to one of WM’s recycling facilities for processing.
—Jessica Alvarado Gamez, Denver Post, 29 Oct. 2025
James Wallace, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2025
The baying scrum around the Renaissance masterpiece—and his height at the time—precluded a glimpse of her crook of a smile.
—Mahoro Seward, Vogue, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bay
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Adjective
The gantries will be located at a mid-bay interchange within the 7.4-mile distance between downtown Mobile and the U.S. 98/90 exit in Daphne.
—al, 29 June 2022
In its back-bays study, the corps imagines protecting Absecon Island, which is divvied up between Atlantic City and three other towns, with a storm-surge barrier and a cross-bay barrier along with connections to levees and flood walls.
—New York Times, 13 Aug. 2021
Noun
Minor coastal flooding is possible in bays and inlets along the north coast of eastern Cuba and minor coastal flooding is expected along the coast of Haiti.
—Miami Herald Hurricane Bot, Miami Herald, 29 Oct. 2025
Municipal waste and recycling collected from homes and businesses in the area are received by the transfer station and temporarily stored in separate bays before recycling is moved to one of WM’s recycling facilities for processing.
—Jessica Alvarado Gamez, Denver Post, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
Bowling at run-hungry batters on largely unforgiving pitches in vast, cacophonous stadiums with huge outfields in front of a partisan and at times baying crowd — plenty of English bowlers have found bowling in Australia akin to a Sisyphean task.
—James Wallace, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2025
The baying scrum around the Renaissance masterpiece—and his height at the time—precluded a glimpse of her crook of a smile.
—Mahoro Seward, Vogue, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bay
Cite this Entry
“Bay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bay. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bay
1 of 7 adjective
: reddish brown
a bay mare
bay
2 of 7 noun1
: a horse with a bay-colored body and black mane, tail, and lower legs
2
: a reddish brown
bay
3 of 7 noun1
: a section or compartment of a building or vehicle
a bomb bay
a cargo bay
2
bay
4 of 7 verb1
: to bark or bark at with long deep tones
wolves baying at the moon
2
: to cry out : shout
3
: to bring (as an animal) to bay
bay
5 of 7 noun1
: the baying of a dog : a deep bark
2
: the position of an animal or person forced to face pursuers when it is impossible to escape
brought the fox to bay
3
: the position of one restrained or held off
used strong medicines to keep the infection at bay
bay
6 of 7 noun
: an inlet of a body of water (as the sea) that is usually smaller than a gulf
bay
7 of 7 noun1
a
b
: any of several shrubs or trees resembling the laurel
2
: a laurel wreath given as a prize
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English bay "reddish brown," from early French bai (same meaning), from Latin badius "reddish brown"
Noun
Middle English bay "main part of a building," from early French baee "opening," derived from earlier baer "to be wide open, gape"
Verb
Middle English baien, abaien "to bay," from early French abaier (same meaning), originally a word to imitate the sound
Noun
Middle English baye "inlet," from early French bai, perhaps from baer "to be wide open"
Noun
Middle English bay "berry, laurel berry," from early French baie (same meaning), from Latin baca "berry"
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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