array
Americanverb (used with object)
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to place in proper or desired order; marshal.
Napoleon arrayed his troops for battle.
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to clothe with garments, especially of an ornamental kind; dress up; deck out.
She arrayed herself in furs and diamonds.
noun
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order or arrangement, as of troops drawn up for battle.
- Synonyms:
- disposition
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military force, especially a body of troops.
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a large and impressive grouping or organization of things.
He couldn't dismiss the array of facts.
- Synonyms:
- exhibition, exhibit, show
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regular order or arrangement; series.
an array of figures.
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a large group, number, or quantity of people or things.
an impressive array of scholars; an imposing array of books.
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attire; dress.
in fine array.
- Synonyms:
- raiment
-
an arrangement of interrelated objects or items of equipment for accomplishing a particular task.
thousands of solar cells in one vast array.
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Mathematics, Statistics.
-
an arrangement of a series of terms according to value, as from largest to smallest.
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an arrangement of a series of terms in some geometric pattern, as in a matrix.
-
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Computers. a block of related data elements, each of which is usually identified by one or more subscripts.
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Radio. antenna array.
noun
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an impressive display or collection
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an orderly or regular arrangement, esp of troops in battle order
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poetic rich clothing; apparel
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maths a sequence of numbers or symbols in a specified order
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maths a set of numbers or symbols arranged in rows and columns, as in a determinant or matrix
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electronics an arrangement of aerials spaced to give desired directional characteristics, used esp in radar
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law a panel of jurors
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the arming of military forces
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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
-
to dress in rich attire; adorn
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to arrange in order (esp troops for battle); marshal
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law to draw up (a panel of jurors)
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Mathematics A rectangular arrangement of quantities in rows and columns, as in a matrix.
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Numerical data ordered in a linear fashion, by magnitude.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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arraysimple
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arrayssimple
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have arrayedperfect
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has arrayedperfect
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am arrayingprogressive
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are arrayingprogressive
-
is arrayingprogressive
-
have been arrayingperfect progressive
-
has been arrayingperfect progressive
Past
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arrayedsimple
-
had arrayedperfect
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was arrayingprogressive
-
were arrayingprogressive
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had been arrayingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of array
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English arrayen, from Anglo-French arayer, Old French are(y)er, from Germanic; compare Old English ārǣdan “to prepare,” equivalent to ā- a- 3 + ræde “prompt”
Explanation
An array is a display of something — usually something varied. You might encounter an array of cereal brands in the cereal aisle of the grocery store. Your head says to choose the Crunchy Oats 'n' Bran, but your heart wants the Sugar-Coated Chocopuffs. Although the word array comes from the Old French areyer, "to put in order," an array often just comes together. It can be an intentional design of people or features — everything from software packages to fashion shows can have an "impressive array" of components. Or, an array can fall together in nature or by chance: "the clouds became an array of beautiful shapes after the storm."
Vocabulary lists containing array
Unit 1: Telling Details
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"Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" by Patrick Henry (1775)
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This Week in Words: December 9 - 15, 2017
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As you are in your 70s, and you are financially stable and have an array of investment products, you have the opportunity to use this as “mad money.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
In the conversations, users prompted the chatbot to respond to a wide array of topics.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour told The Wall Street Journal in June that the company plans to expand its array of tradable assets beyond just events-based contracts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Bass, in a statement, attributed the increases to an array of issues, including funding cuts by the state and federal governments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Hair-texture swatches line the perimeter, boasting an array of types—coiled, straight, coarse, wavy, fine, curly, frizzy, and smooth.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Satellites, moored arrays of sensors and research ships are gathering data from the modern ocean too.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
The state code requires that rooftop solar arrays have rapid shutdown systems that quickly reduce the voltage to a level that makes it safe for first responders to access a roof in an emergency.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Even before the current crisis, Agrawal said, the MTerra Solar project could sell 13 hours of power a day from solar panels and arrays of lithium-ion batteries at prices that undercut imported LNG.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026
They can also be manufactured in large arrays using standard semiconductor fabrication methods.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 2, 2026
His opening arrays were different every time, yet all the same—conservative, defensive, passive.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Five eyeball-style air vents, with illuminated bezels and metallic accents, are arrayed across the dash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
He failed at that, in part because conditions were arrayed against him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2025
Collectively, they form the largest US presence arrayed in and around Latin America in decades.
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2025
Among the vignettes arrayed across the background plane are a ship at full sail, another docked and being unloaded, a lighthouse and a sacrifice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2025
Three children, arrayed in size, stood on their stoop in the spring air, eating cakes.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
In arraying himself against adversaries no matter the cost, he has earned an appellation Robert Bolt gave Sir Thomas More: a man for all seasons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
He sits in a corner of the restaurant, arraying three sheep carcasses before him, then slices and organizes the meat into neat piles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2022
By arraying spike proteins on nanoparticles, vaccine developers aim to follow the style of upscale restaurants, where presentation matters nearly as much as the food on the plate.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 15, 2021
So is it any wonder that the mania for arraying food on boards has crept well beyond the borders that separate cheese-and-charcuterie-ville from the rest of the food world?
From Washington Post ● Feb. 25, 2020
They were arming them with spears and shields, putting iron halfhelms on their heads, and arraying them along the inner wall, a rank of snowy sentinels.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
