tray

¹ American  

[trey] / treɪ /

noun

1. 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.

2. a removable receptacle of this shape in a cabinet, box, trunk, or the like, sometimes forming a drawer.

3. a tray and its contents.

   to order a breakfast tray from room service.

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tray ² American  

[trey] / treɪ /

noun

Australian Slang.

1. a coin worth threepence.

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tray British  

/ treɪ /

noun

1. a thin flat board or plate of metal, plastic, etc, usually with a raised edge, on which things can be carried

2. a shallow receptacle for papers, etc, sometimes forming a drawer in a cabinet or box

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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 ); 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

They’ve admitted to me that in the pilot, at the hotel, they used a scene where I’m looking at a tray of food, and they made it look like I was looking at Stephen.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

The candies themselves looked like tiny, dusty potatoes: irregular little lumps of sweet cream with bits of coconut rolled in cinnamon, dusty and warm-smelling, tucked into a plastic tray.

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026

The company has also received confirmed orders for Nvidia’s compute tray and network switch tray for its chassis solutions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

He said the tray has been sitting there for two weeks.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026

Door showed up and plopped his tray down.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

Related Words

• plate