spray

[ sprey ]

/ spreɪ /

noun

water or other liquid broken up into minute droplets and blown, ejected into, or falling through the air.

a jet of fine particles of liquid, as medicine, insecticide, paint, perfume, etc., discharged from an atomizer or other device for direct application to a surface.

a liquid to be discharged or applied in such a jet.

an apparatus or device for discharging such a liquid.

a quantity of small objects, flying or discharged through the air: a spray of shattered glass.

verb (used with object)

to scatter in the form of fine particles.

to apply as a spray: to spray an insecticide on plants.

to sprinkle or treat with a spray: to spray plants with insecticide.

to direct a spray of particles, missiles, etc., upon: to spray the mob with tear gas.

verb (used without object)

to scatter spray; discharge a spray: The hose sprayed over the flowers.

to issue as spray: The water sprayed from the hose.

Origin of spray

1615–25; < earlier Dutch spraeyen; cognate with Middle High German spræjen

OTHER WORDS FROM spray

spray·a·ble, adjective spray·a·bil·i·ty, noun spray·er, noun spray·less, adjective

spray·like, adjective un·spray·a·ble, adjective un·sprayed, adjective well-sprayed, adjective

Words nearby spray

sprat, spratly islands, sprattle, sprawl, sprawly, spray, spray can, spray gun, spray millet, spray paint, spray skirt

Definition for spray (2 of 2)

spray ²

[ sprey ]

/ spreɪ /

noun

a single, slender shoot, twig, or branch with its leaves, flowers, or berries.

a group or bunch of cut flowers, leafy twigs, etc., arranged decoratively and for display, as in a vase.

an ornament having a similar form.

Origin of spray

1250–1300; Middle English; akin to sprag¹

OTHER WORDS FROM spray

spray·like, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for spray

He would shake a chilled Coke, and then spray the soda into a cold glass of milk.

History's Craziest Hangover Cures |Justin Jones |December 30, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Neither Mr. Gelb nor the unions claimed responsibility for the spray painted vulgarities, and the case remains unsolved.

Inside the Metropolitan Opera’s Insane Year |Shawn E. Milnes |November 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Brown has taken on legendary status in Ferguson, as the spray paint marking the spot where he died indicates.

'Go Ahead and Shoot Me': The Veteran Who Defied Ferguson's Cops |Justin Glawe |August 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Gordon picked up a pair secondhand and began to stencil then onto blank canvases with spray paint.

Kim Gordon: Going Solo After Sonic Youth, and Why She Identifies With ‘Girls’ |Andrew Romano |April 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

I sent a shower of spray from the fixative over the canvas, and said: “Well, go on.”

Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show |Robert W. Chambers |February 20, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
When Kate went to her own chamber, a robin on a spray of sweet-briar was singing at her window.

I, Thou, and the Other One |Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
"Yes, that was right," he said absently, and pinched a spray of southernwood that grew beside the door.

Meadow Grass |Alice Brown
All the men were vitalized into new life, but the storm rose at the same time, and spray and foam dashed over them.

The Sun Of Quebec |Joseph A. Altsheler
He was gone, the rear wheels of the car throwing a spray of sand as he started heedless of Smithy's protests against the plan.

Two Thousand Miles Below |Charles Willard Diffin
The spray near the window had ceased its tapping against the shutter, and was listening too.

The Danvers Jewels, and Sir Charles Danvers |Mary Cholmondeley

British Dictionary definitions for spray (1 of 2)

spray ¹

/ (spreɪ) /

noun

fine particles of a liquid

a liquid, such as perfume, paint, etc, designed to be discharged from an aerosol or atomizerhair spray
the aerosol or atomizer itself

a quantity of small objects flying through the air a spray of bullets

verb

to scatter (liquid) in the form of fine particles

to discharge (a liquid) from an aerosol or atomizer

(tr) to treat or bombard with a spray to spray the lawn

Derived forms of spray

sprayer, noun

Word Origin for spray

C17: from Middle Dutch sprāien; related to Middle High German spræjen

British Dictionary definitions for spray (2 of 2)

spray ²

/ (spreɪ) /

noun

a single slender shoot, twig, or branch that bears buds, leaves, flowers, or berries, either growing on or detached from a plant

a small decorative bouquet or corsage of flowers and foliage

a piece of jewellery designed to resemble a spray of flowers, leaves, etc

Word Origin for spray

C13: of Germanic origin; compare Old English sprǣc young shoot, Old Norse sprek brittle wood, Old High German sprahhula splinter

Medical definitions for spray

spray

[ sprā ]

n.

A fine jet of liquid discharged from a pressurized container.

v.

To disperse a liquid in a jet of droplets.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

spray

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Origin of spray

OTHER WORDS FROM spray

Words nearby spray

Definition for spray (2 of 2)

noun

Origin of spray

OTHER WORDS FROM spray

Example sentences from the Web for spray

British Dictionary definitions for spray (1 of 2)

noun

verb

Derived forms of spray

Word Origin for spray

British Dictionary definitions for spray (2 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for spray

Medical definitions for spray

n.

v.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

spray

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Origin of spray

OTHER WORDS FROM spray

Words nearby spray

Definition for spray (2 of 2)

noun

Origin of spray

OTHER WORDS FROM spray

Words related to spray

Example sentences from the Web for spray

British Dictionary definitions for spray (1 of 2)

noun

verb

Derived forms of spray

Word Origin for spray

British Dictionary definitions for spray (2 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for spray

Medical definitions for spray

n.

v.