dray

[ drey ]
See synonyms for dray on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a low, strong cart without fixed sides, for carrying heavy loads.

  2. a sledge or sled.

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

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.

Origin of dray

1
1325–75; Middle English draye sledge; compare Old English draeg- (in drægnet dragnet), akin to dragan to draw

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dray in a sentence

  • They were carried on three long drays, each drawn by four horses, half of them white, half black.

  • There had been a demand for drays, I remember, and on this day when our silks came in, I was able to procure but one.

  • The street cars, the drays, the carriages, and the other intermingling vehicles puzzled his senses and deafened his ears.

    Ralph Granger's Fortunes | William Perry Brown
  • And the horses that went by our windows had mostly drays behind them, so they were not very tempting.

    Three Margarets | Laura E. Richards
  • They seem as numerous where the rush of drays is thickest as in the open breathing-places where the fountains play.

    Roof and Meadow | Dallas Lore Sharp

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

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

Origin of dray

1
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
  1. 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