Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tray

/tɹeɪ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.75 in modern English

Syllables
tray
IPA
/tɹeɪ/
7
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The items on a full tray.

noun

A component of a device into which an item is placed for use in the device's operations.

noun

A notification area used for icons and alerts.

Informal

noun

A type of retail or wholesale packaging for CPUs where the processors are sold in bulk and/or with minimal packaging.

noun

The platform of a truck that supports the load to be hauled.

Australian usage

verb

to place (items) on a tray

Transitive verb

verb

to slide down a snow-covered hill on a tray from a cafeteria.

Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English trey, from Old English trēġ, trīġ (“wooden board, tray”), from Proto-West Germanic *trauwi, from Proto-Germanic *trawją (“wooden vessel”), from Proto-Indo-European *drewo-, *dóru (“tree; wood”). Cognate with Old Norse treyja (“carrier”), Old Swedish trø (“wooden grain measure”), Low German Treechel (“dough trough”), Ancient Greek δροίτη (droítē, “tub, vat”), Sanskrit द्रोण (droṇa, “trough”). Related to trough and tree.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: trey, trēġ, *trauwi, *trawją, *drewo-, traye

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Homonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce tray?
The recorded pronunciation is /tɹeɪ/.
What does tray mean?
A small, typically rectangular or round, flat, and rigid object upon which things are carried.
Where does tray come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce tray

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tray”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/tɹeɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “tray”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “tray” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.