at bay

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at bay

Where it comes from

From bay (“excited howling of dogs”).

phrase

idiomatic Unable to come closer; at a distance. to keep (someone) at bay
Similar: at a distance, at arm's length, away, back
idiomatic Cornered; unable to flee. The hills, like giants at a hunting, lay / Chin upon hand, to see the game at bay,— / "Now stab and end the creature - to the heft!"
Similar: cornered, trapped
Of an animal, especially a docile animal in contrast to a predatory animal which would be blazoned statant: standing, in profile toward dexter, with all four feet on the ground.

Translations

Every language

prep_phrase unable to come closer

Español	a raya, al margen
Português	à distância
Français	à distance
Deutsch	auf Abstand
Ελληνικά	σε απόσταση se apóstasi
Română	la distanță

prep_phrase cornered

Français	aux abois
Deutsch	in Schach (halten), in die Enge (treiben), in die Ecke (drängen)
Română	în șah, legat

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"at bay." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/at%20bay. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

at bay. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/at%20bay

Chicago

"at bay." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/at%20bay.

BibTeX

@misc{at_bay_2026,
  title = {at bay},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/at%20bay},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}