bay and bey are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. bay means “an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf”. bey means “(formerly) a title of respect for a man in Turkey or Egypt”. bay is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈbeɪ/
1.n.an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
2.n.the sound of a hound on the scent
3.n.small Mediterranean evergreen tree with small blackish berries and glossy aromatic leaves used for flavoring in cooking; also used by ancient Greeks to crown victors
/ˈbeɪ/
| bay | bey | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈbeɪ/ | /ˈbeɪ/ |
| Said | bay | bay |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 3 | 3 |
| Parts of speech | noun, verb, adjective | noun |
| Senses | 10 | 2 |
| How common | Common | Familiar |
| Synonyms | embayment | none recorded |
1.n.(formerly) a title of respect for a man in Turkey or Egypt
“he introduced me to Ahmet Bey”
2.n.the governor of a district or province in the Ottoman Empire