dray

American  

[dray] / dreɪ /

noun

• drays
  plural

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

2. a sledge or sled.

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

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verb (used with object)

1. to convey on a dray.

verb (used without object)

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

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

dray ¹ British  

/ dreɪ /

noun

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

   2. ( in combination )

      a drayman

2. any other vehicle or sledge used to carry a heavy load

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dray ² British  

/ dreɪ /

noun

1. a variant spelling of drey

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• drays
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of dray

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dray drays

The situation is especially fraught for the nation’s 75,000 dray operators and other foot soldiers of the supply chain.

From New York Times ● Oct. 28, 2022

Part of that effort is the Port of Seattle’s ongoing installation of shore power, having charging infrastructure for dray trucks and working to accommodate sustainable aviation fuels at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 3, 2021

It’s as if, instead of the Kentucky Derby, viewers were urged to enjoy the spectacle of thoroughbreds harnessed as dray horses.

From The New Yorker ● Feb. 27, 2017

Construction is also more expensive than building on the mainland, since materials must be transported to the island by ferry and then to the building site by horse and dray.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2016

Two men in leather aprons were unloading beer barrels down a ramp from the dray cart.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

For many years Young's drays and horses were a familiar sight in Wandsworth, south-west London.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 9, 2011

Horse-drawn streetcars moved east and west along Sixty-third, amid a dense traffic of carriages and drays.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Even the lords rode garrons or shaggy Harlaw ponies, and ox carts were more common than drays.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

He swept up, ran errands, weighed bags, and lifted them onto the drays.

From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison

He came to Wentworth Street, which ran north and south and clearly served as Englewood’s main commercial street, its pavement clotted with horses, drays, and phaetons.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

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