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Definition of "bay" []

  • A body of water partially enclosed by land but with a wide mouth, affording access to the sea: the Bay of Biscay. (noun)
  • An area of land, such as an arm of prairie partially enclosed by woodland, that resembles in shape or formation a partially enclosed body of water. (noun)
  • Architecture A part of a building marked off by vertical elements, such as columns or pilasters: an arcade divided into ten bays. (noun)
  • Architecture A bay window. (noun)
  • Architecture An opening or recess in a wall. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "bay" in a sentence
  • "The name of this bay has a less unpleasant meaning in the Indian, than in the French language, signifying also _salt bay_, which induced Father"
  • "They arrived in a fine bay on the 15th, twenty-one leagues from the mouth of the straits, called _Muscle bay_ by the English, because of the great quantities of muscles found there, and here they provided themselves abundantly with fresh water and wood."
  • "II. i.254 (37,7) [I'll rent the fairest house in it, after three pence a bay] A _bay_ of building is, in many parts of England, a common term, of which the best conception that I could ever attain, is, that it is the space between the main beams of the roof; so that a barn crossed twice with beams is a barn of three"