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

Example Sentences

A bright-red tomato soup sits on a food tray in a photo he took from his hospital bed in 2021.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

If you’re feeling ambitious, a bit of verticality can make the whole thing look more abundant: a cake stand, a stack of books under a platter, a raised tray for desserts.

From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026

There is another picture with a tray of mail placed at the front, which he explains was first class mail which is to supposedly to be delivered first.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026

For he discovered skeleton, or as he describes it hurtling down the ice-covered track head first on a "very expensive tea tray."

From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026

A woman pokes through the doorway behind the Colonel, smiling and holding a tray.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

• plate