tray
1 Americannoun
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a flat, shallow container or receptacle made of wood, metal, etc., usually with slightly raised edges, used for carrying, holding, or displaying articles of food, glass, china, etc.
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a removable receptacle of this shape in a cabinet, box, trunk, or the like, sometimes forming a drawer.
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a tray and its contents.
to order a breakfast tray from room service.
noun
noun
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a thin flat board or plate of metal, plastic, etc, usually with a raised edge, on which things can be carried
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a shallow receptacle for papers, etc, sometimes forming a drawer in a cabinet or box
Etymology
Origin of tray1
before 1050; Middle English; Old English trēg, trīg; cognate with Old Swedish trö corn measure; akin to tree
Origin of tray2
1895–1900; compare earlier argot trey, tray three, a set of three, probably ultimately < Italian tre (< Latin trēs three ); cf. trey
Explanation
A tray is a flat dish or container that's used to carry or serve food. Your little sister and her friends will get pretty excited if you bring them a tray of chocolate cupcakes. Trays are made of many different materials, including wood, silver, and plastic. Most trays hold food, but they can also be used for carrying, storing, or displaying all kinds of things. A surgeon might select an instrument from a sterile stainless steel tray, and a writer might keep a wooden tray on her desk to hold paper and pens. Waiters and butlers carry trays of food, and you might leave a coffee shop carrying four hot chocolates in a cardboard tray.
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.
This is where the tray bake comes in.
From Salon • May 5, 2026
One of my first major purchases in college was a Craftsman Mechanics Tool Set in the gray metal toolbox with a red tray.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026
The Chick-fil-A catering menu lists the cost of a large tray of its mac-and-cheese at around $100 depending on location.
From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026
“I thought it was a tray going down,” Trump said later.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2026
Lady Constance reached into her reticule and extracted the same square, cream-colored envelope that Penelope had spotted on the mail tray the previous day.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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.
