bray

¹ American  

[brey] / breɪ /

noun

• brays
  plural

1. the loud, harsh cry of a donkey.

2. any similar loud, harsh sound.

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verb (used without object)

1. to utter a loud and harsh cry, as a donkey.

2. to make a loud, harsh, disagreeable sound.

verb (used with object)

1. to utter with a loud, harsh sound, like a donkey.

bray ² American  

[brey] / breɪ /

verb (used with object)

1. to pound or crush fine, as in a mortar.

2. Printing. to thin (ink) on a slate before placing on the ink plate of a press.

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bray ¹ British  

/ breɪ /

verb

1. (intr) (of a donkey) to utter its characteristic loud harsh sound; heehaw

2. (intr) to make a similar sound, as in laughing

   he brayed at the joke

3. (tr) to utter with a loud harsh sound

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noun

1. the loud harsh sound uttered by a donkey

2. a similar loud cry or uproar

   a bray of protest

bray ² British  

/ breɪ /

verb

1. (tr) to distribute (ink) over printing type or plates

2. (tr) to pound into a powder, as in a mortar

3. dialect to hit or beat (someone or something) hard; bang

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• brayer
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• brays
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bray¹

1250–1300; Middle English brayen < Old French braire to cry out (cognate with Medieval Latin bragīre to neigh) < Celtic; compare Old Irish braigid (he) breaks wind

Origin of bray²

1350–1400; Middle English brayen < Anglo-French bra ( i ) er, Old French broier < Germanic; see break

Explanation

When you bray, you make the "hee-haw" sound that a donkey makes. The sound itself is also known as a bray. A mule or donkey's bray is loud and jarring when compared to the gentle neigh of a pony. If you have a loud, goofy laugh, your friends might describe it as a bray, too. Donkeys bray when they're under stress, and they bray back and forth to each other from separate stalls in a barn. When you argue loudly with your brother, your dad may yell, "I'm tired of hearing you two bray!" The Old French root of bray is braire, "to cry out."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bray brays

What he actually wrote was “dogs bark it, asses and mules bray it, and bilious bipeds whistle it.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2024

Conductor in rehearsal: “Violins, you’re scratchy and flat! Trombones — don’t bray like mating zebras! Kettledrums, what extraordinarily horrendous noise! Xylophone: unbelievably grotesque — just quit! Otherwise — perfect.”

From Washington Post ● Nov. 23, 2022

Every time I hear her bray, I can’t help but laugh.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 15, 2022

His famous stage bray was muted, replaced by the oddly calming cadence later familiar to listeners of “Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast,” his whipsmart showbiz series with Frank Santopadre.

From New York Times ● Apr. 13, 2022

And so the words died away into a donkey's bray.

From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis

“Look how much Canadians hate the United States now,” brays a February Politico headline.

From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026

Having dismissed her work as merely decorative, a fierce Italian gives harsh advice to an ambitious young painter: “You need to be a monster,” he brays.

From New York Times ● Apr. 14, 2024

Flockhart brays and Quinto bellows at harrowing volume.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2022

A donkey named Henry brays from a side yard.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 20, 2021

Restless, Belle brays again—a high-pitched “Heeee,” then “Haw.”

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes