ay

1 of 2

interjection

ˈī How to pronounce ay (audio)
Synonyms of aynext
—usually used with following me to express sorrow or regret

ay

2 of 2

adverb

less common spelling of aye entry 1, aye entry 2, aye entry 3

: yes
aye, aye, sir

Synonyms of ay

Relevance

Interjection

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of ay in a Sentence

Interjection ay me, we are doomed to listen to that noise all night!

Word History

Etymology

Interjection

Middle French aymi ay me

First Known Use

Interjection

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ay was in the 13th century

Rhymes for ay

See All Rhymes for ay

Browse Nearby Words

axunge
ay
ayacahuite
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ay. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on ay

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ay

Last Updated: - Definition revised
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All