array

[uh-rey]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR array ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to place in proper or desired order; marshal: Napoleon arrayed his troops for battle.

to clothe with garments, especially of an ornamental kind; dress up; deck out: She arrayed herself in furs and diamonds.

noun

order or arrangement, as of troops drawn up for battle.

military force, especially a body of troops.

a large and impressive grouping or organization of things: He couldn't dismiss the array of facts.

regular order or arrangement; series: an array of figures.

a large group, number, or quantity of people or things: an impressive array of scholars; an imposing array of books.

attire; dress: in fine array.

an arrangement of interrelated objects or items of equipment for accomplishing a particular task: thousands of solar cells in one vast array.

Mathematics, Statistics.

an arrangement of a series of terms according to value, as from largest to smallest.
an arrangement of a series of terms in some geometric pattern, as in a matrix.

Computers. a block of related data elements, each of which is usually identified by one or more subscripts.

Radio. antenna array.

Origin of array

1250–1300; Middle English arrayen < Anglo-French arayer, Old French are(y)er < Germanic; compare Old English ārǣdan to prepare, equivalent to ā- a-³ + ræde ready

Related formsar·ray·er, nounun·ar·rayed, adjectivewell-ar·rayed, adjective

Synonyms for array

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR array ON THESAURUS.COM

1. arrange, range, order, dispose. 2. apparel, dress, attire; ornament, adorn, decorate. 3. disposition. 5. show, exhibit, exhibition. 8. raiment.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for array

supply, pattern, batch, bundle, cluster, host, design, lot, lineup, display, multitude, bunch, body, throng, set, parade, show, arrangement, formation, exhibition

Examples from the Web for array

Contemporary Examples of array

Today, the Republicans can call upon an array of minority senators, governors, and congressmen.
The Republican Rainbow Coalition Is Real
Tim Mak
November 18, 2014
Still more keys engage an array of other sounds, from snare drums and cymbals to awooga horns and sirens.
How to Save Silent Movies: Inside New Jersey’s Cinema Paradiso
Rich Goldstein
October 2, 2014
The bar had brought together an array of people united by a desire to settle into a home away from home with a drink in hand.
The Classic Hotel Bar Checks Back In
Kayleigh Kulp
July 26, 2014
Sure, there is an array of “self-help” guides available in the world.
A New Breakup Therapist: Your Phone
Erin Cunningham
July 1, 2014
And whether their preferred candidate wins or loses, they have a right to demand from their representative an array of services.
Black Voters’ New Path to Power
Roland S. Martin
June 26, 2014

Historical Examples of array

They set the battle in array, they uttered cries of defiance.
The Babylonian Legends of the Creation
British Museum
Howbeit, what an array of Masters and Knights have we, and what a variety!
The Book of Khalid
Ameen Rihani
Its pathos, its humor, and its array of natural incidents are all satisfying.
Dreamers of the Ghetto
I. Zangwill
What means that array of bottles, cups, saucers, and glasses on the chair at my head?
Oswald Langdon
Carson Jay Lee
Along the shelves stretched an array of bottles with liqueurs of every color.
Mayflower (Flor de mayo)
Vicente Blasco Ibez

British Dictionary definitions for array

array

noun

an impressive display or collection

an orderly or regular arrangement, esp of troops in battle order

poetic rich clothing; apparel

maths a sequence of numbers or symbols in a specified order

maths a set of numbers or symbols arranged in rows and columns, as in a determinant or matrix

electronics an arrangement of aerials spaced to give desired directional characteristics, used esp in radar

law a panel of jurors

the arming of military forces

computing a regular data structure in which individual elements may be located by reference to one or more integer index variables, the number of such indices being the number of dimensions in the array

verb (tr)

to dress in rich attire; adorn

to arrange in order (esp troops for battle); marshal

law to draw up (a panel of jurors)

Derived Formsarrayal, noun

Word Origin for array

C13: from Old French aroi arrangement, from arayer to arrange, of Germanic origin; compare Old English arǣdan to make ready

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for array

early 14c., from stem of Old French areer "to put in order," from Vulgar Latin *ar-redare (source of Italian arredare), from Latin ad- "to" (see ad-) + Frankish *ræd- "ready" or some cognate Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *raidjan "to place in order" (cf. Gothic garadis, Old English geræde "ready;" see ready (adj.)). Related: Arrayed; arraying.

mid-14c., "order, arrangement," from Anglo-French arrai, Old French aroi, from areer (see array (v.)).

array in Science

array

[ə-rā′]

Mathematics A rectangular arrangement of quantities in rows and columns, as in a matrix.

Numerical data ordered in a linear fashion, by magnitude.