ray

[ rey ]

/ reɪ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR ray ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a narrow beam of light.

a gleam or slight manifestation: a ray of hope.

a raylike line or stretch of something.

light or radiance.

a line of sight.

Physics, Optics.

any of the lines or streams in which light appears to radiate from a luminous body.
the straight line normal to the wave front in the propagation of radiant energy.
a stream of material particles all moving in the same straight line.

Mathematics.

one of a system of straight lines emanating from a point.
Also called half-line. the part of a straight line considered as originating at a point on the line and as extending in one direction from that point.

any of a system of parts radially arranged.

Zoology.

one of the branches or arms of a starfish or other radiate animal.
one of the bony or cartilaginous rods in the fin of a fish.

Botany.

ray flower.
one of the branches of an umbel.
vascular ray.
(in certain composite plants) the marginal part of the flower head.

Astronomy. one of many long, bright streaks radiating from some of the large lunar craters.

a prominent upright projection from the circlet of a crown or coronet, having a pointed or ornamented termination.

verb (used without object)

to emit rays.

to issue in rays.

verb (used with object)

to send forth in rays.

to throw rays upon; irradiate.

to subject to the action of rays, as in radiotherapy.

Informal. to make a radiograph of; x-ray.

to furnish with rays or radiating lines.

Idioms for ray

get/grab some rays, Slang. to relax in the sun, especially to sunbathe.

Origin of ray

1300–50; Middle English raie, raye < Old French rai < Latin radius radius

SYNONYMS FOR ray

1 See gleam.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR ray ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM ray

ray·like, adjective

Words nearby ray

rawlplug, rawls, rawmaish, rawsthorne, rax, ray, ray floret, ray flower, ray gun, ray-finned fish, rayah

Definition for ray (2 of 3)

ray ²

[ rey ]

/ reɪ /

noun

any of numerous elasmobranch fishes, adapted for life on the sea bottom, having a flattened body and greatly enlarged pectoral fins with the gills on the undersides.

Origin of ray

1275–1325; Middle English raye (< Old French rai) < Latin raia

Definition for ray (3 of 3)

Ray

[ rey for 1, 2, 4–6; rahy for 3 ]

/ reɪ for 1, 2, 4–6; raɪ for 3 /

noun

John,1627?–1705, English naturalist.

Man

[man] /mæn/,1890–1976, U.S. painter and photographer.

Sat·ya·jit

[suht-yuh-jit] /ˈsʌt yə dʒɪt/,1921–92, Indian film director.

Cape, a promontory at the SW extremity of Newfoundland, Canada, on the Cabot Strait, at the entrance of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

a male given name, form of Raymond.

Also Raye. a female given name, form of Rachel.

Example sentences from the Web for ray

"He brought Ray Charles to the mix as an influence on rock & roll," E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt once raved.

Joe Cocker's Deep Live Cuts |Asawin Suebsaeng |December 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Thanks to CompStat and strategies added by Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, crime continued to decline.

Eric Garner Was Just a Number to Them |Michael Daly |December 5, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I have been a Ray Harryhausen fan since I was six or seven years old.

‘No Regrets’: Peter Jackson Says Goodbye to Middle-Earth |Alex Suskind |December 4, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
And soon all of America got to see Ray in the ring with Janay, hitting her with a shot in the jaw.

The $44 Million Teflon Don of the NFL |Mike Barnicle |November 30, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Jones ruled for Ray and he is now back in business, eligible to sign with any NFL club.

The $44 Million Teflon Don of the NFL |Mike Barnicle |November 30, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
"It wouldn't be fair to take it for that," said Ray, flushing.

Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1905 to 1906 |Lucy Maud Montgomery
A dark cloud hangs over the land, so thick, so dark, a ray of hope can hardly penetrate it.

The Works of Daniel Webster, Volume 1 |Daniel Webster
A ray of light came over Mr. Cane's stern visage as he asked, "You weren't playing garbage-man, were you?"

Sube Cane |Edward Bellamy Partridge
He wanted no ray of light to steal out into the growing darkness and make a target.

The Strength of the Pines |Edison Marshall
I wished the night might last forever, that the only ray of hope might not be gone.

The Dean's Watch |Erckmann-Chatrian

British Dictionary definitions for ray (1 of 5)

ray ¹

/ (reɪ) /

noun

a narrow beam of light; gleam

a slight indication, esp of something anticipated or hoped for a ray of solace

maths a straight line extending from a point

a thin beam of electromagnetic radiation or particles

any of the bony or cartilaginous spines of the fin of a fish that form the support for the soft part of the fin

any of the arms or branches of a starfish or other radiate animal

astronomy any of a number of bright streaks that radiate from the youngest lunar craters, such as Tycho; they are composed of crater ejecta not yet darkened, and extend considerable distances

botany any strand of tissue that runs radially through the vascular tissue of some higher plants See medullary ray

verb

(of an object) to emit (light) in rays or (of light) to issue in the form of rays

(intr) (of lines, etc) to extend in rays or on radiating paths

(tr) to adorn (an ornament, etc) with rays or radiating lines

Word Origin for ray

C14: from Old French rai, from Latin radius spoke, radius

British Dictionary definitions for ray (2 of 5)

ray ²

/ (reɪ) /

noun

any of various marine selachian fishes typically having a flattened body, greatly enlarged winglike pectoral fins, gills on the undersurface of the fins, and a long whiplike tail. They constitute the orders Torpediniformes (electric rays) and Rajiformes

Word Origin for ray

C14: from Old French raie, from Latin raia

British Dictionary definitions for ray (3 of 5)

ray ³

/ (reɪ) /

noun

music (in tonic sol-fa) the second degree of any major scale; supertonic

Word Origin for ray

C14: see gamut

British Dictionary definitions for ray (4 of 5)

Ray ¹

/ (reɪ) /

noun

Cape Ray a promontory in SW Newfoundland, Canada

British Dictionary definitions for ray (5 of 5)

Ray ²

/ (reɪ) /

noun

John . 1627–1705, English naturalist. He originated natural botanical classification and the division of flowering plants into monocotyledons and dicotyledons

Man, real name Emmanuel Rudnitsky . 1890–1976, US surrealist photographer

Satyajit (ˈsætjədʒɪt). 1921–92, Indian film director, noted for his Apu trilogy (1955–59)

Medical definitions for ray (1 of 2)

ray

[ rā ]

n.

A narrow beam of light or other electromagnetic radiation.

A narrow beam of particles, as a cathode.

A structure or part having the form of a straight line extending from a point.

Medical definitions for ray (2 of 2)

Ray

John 1627-1705

English naturalist who was the first to use anatomy to distinguish between specific plants and animals. He established the species as the basic classification of living things.

Scientific definitions for ray

ray

[ rā ]

A thin line or narrow beam of light or other radiation.

A geometric figure consisting of the part of a line that is on one side of a point on the line.

See ray flower.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

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