ray
verb · noun
Simple meaning
Any of the superorder Batoidea of marine fish with flat bodies, large wing-like fins, and whip-like tails.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rayIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹeɪ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To emit something as if in rays.
“That tower rays a laser beam for miles across the sky.”
intransitive
To radiate as if in rays.
transitive
To expose to radiation.
noun
A column of light (as from a beacon)
A beam of light or radiation.
Any of the superorder Batoidea of marine fish with flat bodies, large wing-like fins, and whip-like tails.
zoology
A rib-like reinforcement of bone or cartilage in a fish's fin.
The letter ⟨/⟩, one of two which represent the r sound in Pitman shorthand.
A diminutive of the male given name Raymond, also used as a formal given name.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Any of the superorder Batoidea of marine fish with flat bodies, large wing-like fins, and whip-like tails.
Used this way, ray is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- shaft , more formal, and heavier in everyday conversation
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.