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

Examples from the Web for arrayed

Contemporary Examples of arrayed

For this service he arrayed himself in an old-fashioned frock coat with long skirts.
The Stacks: H.L. Mencken on the 1904 Baltimore Fire
H.L. Mencken
October 4, 2014
Dozens of black plastic bags with human bodies were arrayed along the highway.
In the Killing Fields of Ukraine with Children Who Saw the MH17 Horror
Anna Nemtsova
July 20, 2014
Arrayed over four acres, the 3,500 panels have a combined generation capacity of one megawatt.
Sun+Water= High Tech Caribbean Luxury At The Cusinart Resort
The Daily Beast
June 11, 2014
She, slightly taller, is arrayed all in white—creamy slacks and a virgin wool sweater.
Neal Schon and Michaele Salahi Are Tying the Knot and You Can Pay to Watch
Lloyd Grove
December 7, 2013
Instead, it has mirrors—300,000 of them—all arrayed in rings around three giant towers.
Solar Power Plant in the Mojave Could Power 140,000 Homes
Josh Dzieza
September 28, 2013

Historical Examples of arrayed

We are not all arrayed in two opposite ranks; the offensive and the defensive.
Life And Adventures Of Martin Chuzzlewit
Charles Dickens
In the evening Florent was arrayed in new clothes from head to foot.
The Fat and the Thin
Emile Zola
Jim came downstairs, arrayed in the suit which Hephzy had laid out for him.
Kent Knowles: Quahaug
Joseph C. Lincoln
This morning both he and the Keith girl were arrayed in the gayest of summer regalia.
Mary-'Gusta
Joseph C. Lincoln
He was arrayed for battle, in back-and-breast of black steel.
Captain Blood
Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for arrayed

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 arrayed

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.