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• sally
  sally

  noun

  a sortie of troops from a besieged place upon an enemy.
• Sally
  Sally

  noun

  a female given name, form of Sarah.

sally

¹ American  

[sal-ee] / ˈsæl i /

noun

• sallies
  plural

1. a sortie of troops from a besieged place upon an enemy.

2. a sudden rushing forth or activity.

3. an excursion or trip, usually off the main course.

4. an outburst or flight of passion, fancy, etc..

   a sally of anger.

5. a clever, witty, or fanciful remark.

   Synonyms:

   witticism, quip

6. Carpentry. a projection, as of the end of a rafter beyond the notch by which the rafter is fitted over the wall plate.

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verb (used without object)

• sallies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sallied,
  past participle,  past
• sallying
  present participle

1. to make a sally, as a body of troops from a besieged place.

2. to set out on a side trip or excursion.

3. to set out briskly or energetically.

4. (of things) to issue forth.

Sally ² American  

[sal-ee] / ˈsæl i /

Or Sallie

noun

1. a female given name, form of Sarah.

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sally ¹ British  

/ ˈsælɪ /

noun

1. a sudden violent excursion, esp by besieged forces to attack the besiegers; sortie

2. a sudden outburst or emergence into action, expression, or emotion

3. an excursion or jaunt

4. a jocular retort

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verb

1. to make a sudden violent excursion

2. (often foll by forth) to go out on an expedition, etc

3. to come, go, or set out in an energetic manner

4. to rush out suddenly

Sally ² British  

/ ˈsælɪ /

noun

1. a member of the Salvation Army

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sally ³ British  

/ ˈsælɪ /

noun

1. the lower part of a bell rope, where it is caught at handstroke, into which coloured wool is woven to make a grip

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sallier
  noun
• outsally
  verb (used with object)
• unsallying
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sallies
  plural

Participles

• sallying
  present
• sallied
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sally
  simple
• sallies
  simple
• have sallied
  perfect
• has sallied
  perfect
• am sallying
  progressive
• are sallying
  progressive
• is sallying
  progressive
• have been sallying
  perfect progressive
• has been sallying
  perfect progressive

Past

• sallied
  simple
• had sallied
  perfect
• was sallying
  progressive
• were sallying
  progressive
• had been sallying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sally
  simple
• will have sallied
  perfect
• will be sallying
  progressive
• will have been sallying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of sally

1535–45; < Middle French saillie attack, noun use of feminine past participle of saillir to rush forward < Latin salīre to leap

Explanation

A sally is a military action, a sudden charge in the direction of the enemy. A sally sometimes has the advantage of taking the opposing army by surprise. When soldiers who have been on the defensive, having retreated to a foxhole or fort, make an abrupt offensive attack on their opponents, it's a sally. Another word for this kind of sally is a sortie. You can also call a sudden funny remark or comeback a sally, especially during a witty, back-and-forth, or bantering kind of conversation. The word comes from the Middle French saillie, "a rushing forth," from the Latin salire, "to leap."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sally Sally sallies sallied sallying

The latest sally is a new round of export restrictions released this week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026

However, despite learning much about scarce yellow sally, the scientists still have no idea how it got its name.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2023

“It’s the same shade in every music video since sally Walker. Suddenly I wear a black wig in a club scene & its an issue.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2021

It was possible for me to sally forth without the threat of young adult bankruptcy.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2020

As the northern lords studied the castle, a sally port opened, a plank bridge slid across the moat, and a dozen knights rode forth to confront them, led by four of Lord Walder's many sons.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

The gap between the two sides leaves the prospect of a near-term agreement, and a broader normalization of oil flows through the strait, uncertain, according to Sally Auld, group chief economist at National Australia Bank.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

However, to make her dream possible, Sally is working up to 14 hours a day.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

Best known for his work on iconic films “When Harry Met Sally ... ,” “Stand By Me” and “This Is Spinal Tap,” Rob Reiner was a beloved actor and director.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

Actress Sally Field, who starred in Steel Magnolias opposite Dolly Parton, led a tribute to the country music star, who died last month.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

One of Sally’s cousins was a good-looking, slender, dark-haired boy named Appy, who later turned out to look like a movie idol and aroused more admiration than the short, comical, chubby Sally.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank

She and her brood live high up in the trees, jumping from branch to branch and occasionally making exploratory sallies on the ground.

From Salon ● May 11, 2025

Edith, for example, sallies forth like Eleanor Lavish, the assertive romance writer portrayed by Judi Dench in the film version of “A Room With a View.”

From Washington Post ● Dec. 29, 2022

They’re still getting to know one another—making conversational sallies, seeking to befriend or impress or charm.

From The New Yorker ● Sep. 9, 2019

And thanks to the generally excellent dialogue by writer-director Shane Black, the verbal sallies often leave a real sting.

From Slate ● May 2, 2013

Readers of The Times in London were told that what was otherwise an “imposing ceremony” was “rendered ludicrous by some of the luckless sallies of that poor President Lincoln.”

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

I sallied forth, seeking a companion to go with me to see Metallica at a 6th Street club.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2022

Yet despite a government determined to constrain their ambition and advancement, they sallied forward to become a lawyer and educator, respectively.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 21, 2022

One of these counter-offensives came in the form of an appearance from billionaire Howard Schultz, Starbucks' former chairman, who sallied over to Buffalo to vaguely dissuade pro-union workers from unionizing.

From Salon ● Dec. 25, 2021

The original movie succeeded in wasting Emmanuelle Béart and Kristin Scott Thomas, and it wasn’t really until Ferguson sallied into film No. 5, toting an assassin’s rifle, that progress began to be made.

From The New Yorker ● Jul. 26, 2018

They dressed quickly, and all in war gear sallied from the gate, led by Odysseus.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

All that sallying takes her down some unexpected byways.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

Finally, some first-timers are valiantly sallying forth — the kind of debuts that’ll be more and more rare as times only get tougher for the restaurant industry under COVID-19.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 10, 2020

But sallying forth without any of them is a recipe for misery.

From The New Yorker ● Feb. 22, 2016

For both sides the primary task of this weekend then is not avoiding sallying forth on to the fiscal slope, but making sure their bindings are tight as they do so.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 28, 2012

They had been content to live and quietly to propagate their species in a huge machicolated Norman castle, surrounded by a triple moat, only sallying forth to cultivate their property and to collect their rents.

From Mortal Coils by Aldous Huxley