tray
1 Americannoun
-
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.
-
a removable receptacle of this shape in a cabinet, box, trunk, or the like, sometimes forming a drawer.
-
a tray and its contents.
to order a breakfast tray from room service.
noun
noun
-
a thin flat board or plate of metal, plastic, etc, usually with a raised edge, on which things can be carried
-
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.
USA Today published a photo earlier this year of a sailor’s mostly empty lunch tray, which included a few chunks of boiled carrot and processed meat of an indeterminate nature.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
Then a smiling man walks in carrying another tray.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
Wrap ice packs in a cloth or place them on a tray to avoid condensation soaking bedding or direct cold contact with skin.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
JC: Fun fact—Josh actually went through the last World Cup with an ice cube tray under his shirt, because we were in Qatar and it was approximately 300 degrees in the shade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
She had stuck a bunch of miniature plastic trees onto an old tea tray.
From "Wolfie & Fly" by Cary Fagan
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.
