ray
1 Americannoun
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a narrow beam of light.
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a gleam or slight manifestation.
a ray of hope.
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a raylike line or stretch of something.
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light or radiance.
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a line of sight.
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Physics, Optics.
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any of the lines or streams in which light appears to radiate from a luminous body.
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the straight line normal to the wave front in the propagation of radiant energy.
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a stream of material particles all moving in the same straight line.
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Mathematics.
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one of a system of straight lines emanating from a point.
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Also called half-line. the part of a straight line considered as originating at a point on the line and as extending in one direction from that point.
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any of a system of parts radially arranged.
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Zoology.
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one of the branches or arms of a starfish or other radiate animal.
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one of the bony or cartilaginous rods in the fin of a fish.
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Botany.
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one of the branches of an umbel.
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(in certain composite plants) the marginal part of the flower head.
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Astronomy. one of many long, bright streaks radiating from some of the large lunar craters.
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a prominent upright projection from the circlet of a crown or coronet, having a pointed or ornamented termination.
verb (used without object)
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to emit rays.
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to issue in rays.
verb (used with object)
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to send forth in rays.
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to throw rays upon; irradiate.
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to subject to the action of rays, as in radiotherapy.
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Informal. to make a radiograph of; x-ray.
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to furnish with rays or radiating lines.
idioms
noun
noun
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John, 1627?–1705, English naturalist.
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Man 1890–1976, U.S. painter and photographer.
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Satyajit 1921–92, Indian film director.
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Cape, a promontory at the SW extremity of Newfoundland, Canada, on the Cabot Strait, at the entrance of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
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a male given name, form of Raymond.
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Also Raye a female given name, form of Rachel.
noun
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John . 1627–1705, English naturalist. He originated natural botanical classification and the division of flowering plants into monocotyledons and dicotyledons
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Man , real name Emmanuel Rudnitsky . 1890–1976, US surrealist photographer
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Satyajit (ˈsætjədʒɪt). 1921–92, Indian film director, noted for his Apu trilogy (1955–59)
noun
noun
noun
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a narrow beam of light; gleam
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a slight indication, esp of something anticipated or hoped for
a ray of solace
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maths a straight line extending from a point
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a thin beam of electromagnetic radiation or particles
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any of the bony or cartilaginous spines of the fin of a fish that form the support for the soft part of the fin
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any of the arms or branches of a starfish or other radiate animal
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astronomy any of a number of bright streaks that radiate from the youngest lunar craters, such as Tycho; they are composed of crater ejecta not yet darkened, and extend considerable distances
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botany any strand of tissue that runs radially through the vascular tissue of some higher plants See medullary ray
verb
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(of an object) to emit (light) in rays or (of light) to issue in the form of rays
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(intr) (of lines, etc) to extend in rays or on radiating paths
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(tr) to adorn (an ornament, etc) with rays or radiating lines
noun
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A thin line or narrow beam of light or other radiation.
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A geometric figure consisting of the part of a line that is on one side of a point on the line.
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See ray flower
Related Words
See gleam.
Other Word Forms
- raylike adjective
Etymology
Origin of ray1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English rai, raie, raye, from Old French rai “beam of light; spoke of a wheel,” from Latin radius radius
Origin of ray2
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English rai(e), raye, (from Old French rai ) or directly from Latin raia
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.
Other articles explained the science behind natural wonders: flowers, the human voice, or moon rays.
From Literature
The bacteria were then exposed to radiation equivalent to 20 million years of cosmic ray bombardment on the Martian surface.
From Science Daily
Its rays passed above the clouds, and the clouds, in turn, brushed shadows onto the sleek surfaces of the iceberg and the surrounding water.
From Literature
I blinked my eyes at the burst of fiery bronze as they winged their way through the bright rays of the morning sun.
From Literature
As the first rays of morning light reached the sky, I grasped the straws from her hand and spun them too.
From Literature
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.
