dray

[ drey ]

/ dreɪ /

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noun

a low, strong cart without fixed sides, for carrying heavy loads.

a sledge or sled.

any vehicle, as a truck, used to haul goods, especially one used to carry heavy loads.

verb (used with object)

to convey on a dray.

verb (used without object)

to drive or operate a dray, especially as an occupation.

to convey goods by dray, especially locally or for short distances.

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Origin of dray

1325–75; Middle English draye sledge; compare Old English draeg- (in drægnet dragnet), akin to dragan to draw

Words nearby dray

draw the line at, draw top, drawtube, draw up, draw weight, dray, drayage, dray horse, draying, drayman, Drayton

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dray in a sentence

Excerpted from Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen by Philip Dray.
The Black Man Who Replaced Jefferson Davis in the Senate|Philip Dray|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Or, they may be less benevolent, as Dray believes Gorelik was.
The Mom Forced to Have a C-Section|Emily Shire|June 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Dray says that the doctors she had seen in the practice prior to her delivery were, in fact, supportive of her VBAC plan.
The Mom Forced to Have a C-Section|Emily Shire|June 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Dray glances at me and then looks away when I ask her if she is going to have any more children.
The Mom Forced to Have a C-Section|Emily Shire|June 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST

While impressive, these figures are largely irrelevant for Dray.
The Mom Forced to Have a C-Section|Emily Shire|June 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What were you doing, coming from the west with a woman like that in the dray?
Colonial Born|G. Firth Scott
Jack Beckley was haled to court on a dray, too oblivious of everything to answer any charge.
Watch Yourself Go By|Al. G. Field
It was a covered-in dray, and had been brought to in a little clearing of the scrubby undergrowth.
The Pioneers|Katharine Susannah Prichard
Sixteen men at Hankow to carry baggage that one man and a one-horse dray would carry in New York.
Where Half The World Is Waking Up|Clarence Poe
In the steep roadway on the right a dray, loaded with barrels, creaked and jolted upward.
The History of Sir Richard Calmady|Lucas Malet

British Dictionary definitions for dray (1 of 2)

dray¹

/ (dreɪ) /

noun

a low cart without fixed sides, used for carrying heavy loads
(in combination)a drayman

any other vehicle or sledge used to carry a heavy load

Word Origin for dray

Old English dræge dragnet; related to Old Norse draga load of timber carried on horseback and trailing on the ground; see draw

British Dictionary definitions for dray (2 of 2)

dray²

/ (dreɪ) /

noun

a variant spelling of drey

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

dray

Origin of dray

Words nearby dray

Words related to dray

How to use dray in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dray (1 of 2)

Word Origin for dray

British Dictionary definitions for dray (2 of 2)