- [countable] a part of the sea, or of a large lake, partly surrounded by a wide curve of the land
- the Bay of Bengal
- Hudson Bay
- a magnificent view across the bay
- apartments overlooking the bay
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- sheltered
- shallow
- sandy
- …
- overlook
- across the bay
- [countable] a marked section of ground either inside or outside a building, for example for a vehicle to park in, for storing things, etc.
- a parking/loading bay
- Put the equipment in No 3 bay.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- cargo
- docking
- hangar
- …
- [countable] a curved area of a room or building that sticks out from the rest of the building
- [countable] a horse of a dark brown colour
- He was riding a big bay.
- [countable] a deep noise, especially the noise made by dogs when hunting
- (also bay tree)[countable] a small tree with dark green leaves with a sweet smell that are used in cooking
- [uncountable] the leaves of the bay tree, used in cooking as a herbTopics Foodc2
Word Originnoun sense 1 late Middle English: from Old French baie, from Old Spanish bahia, of unknown origin. noun senses 2 to 3 late Middle English: from Old French baie, from baer ‘to gape’, from medieval Latin batare, of unknown origin. noun sense 4 Middle English: from Old French bai, from Latin badius.
Idioms
See bay in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryat bay
- when an animal that is being hunted is at bay, it must turn and face the dogs and hunters because it is impossible to escape from them
hold/keep somebody/something at bay
- to prevent an enemy from coming close or a problem from having a bad effect synonym ward off
- I'm trying to keep my creditors at bay.
- Charlotte bit her lip to hold the tears at bay.
Check pronunciation:
bay