What does "bray" mean?
The cry of an animal, now chiefly that of animals related to the ass or donkey, or the camel.
Bray
/bɹeɪ/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The cry of an animal, now chiefly that of animals related to the ass or donkey, or the camel.
- Grammar: bray is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abrade, ass cry, atomize, bark.
- Useful contrasts: gentle speech, murmur, soft sound.
- Usage evidence: I cannot bray like a donkey. I'm a horse.
How to use "bray"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bray" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bray" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bray" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bray" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bray" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abrade" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bray", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The cry of an animal, now chiefly that of animals related to the ass or donkey, or the camel.
- 2 the cry of an ass wordnet
- 3 Any discordant, grating, or harsh sound. broadly
"It seems a very nest—warm and snug, and green—for human life; with the twilight haze of time about it, almost consecrating it from the aching hopes and feverish expectations of the present. Who would think that the bray and roar of multitudinous London sounded but some sixty miles away?"
Verb
- 1 Of an animal (now chiefly of animals related to the ass or donkey, and the camel): to make its cry. intransitive
"Whenever I walked by, that donkey brayed at me."
- 2 To crush or pound, especially using a pestle and mortar. archaic, transitive
"Though thou ſhouldeſt bray a fool in a morter among wheate with a peſtell, yet will not his fooliſhneſſe depart from him."
- 3 laugh loudly and harshly wordnet
- 4 To make a harsh, discordant sound like a donkey's bray. broadly, intransitive
"He threw back his head and brayed with laughter."
- 5 To hit (someone or something). British, Yorkshire, broadly, transitive
"If anything he brayed him all the harder – the old family bull recognising his fighting days were close to over."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 reduce to small pieces or particles by pounding or abrading wordnet
- 7 To make or utter (a shout, sound, etc.) discordantly, loudly, or in a harsh and grating manner. transitive
"[N]ow ſtorming furie roſe, / And clamour ſuch as heard in Heav'n till now / Was never, Arms on Armour claſhing bray'd / Horrible discord, and the madding Wheeles / Of brazen Chariots rag'd; [...]"
- 8 braying characteristic of donkeys wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A place name:; A village and civil parish in Windsor and Maidenhead borough, Berkshire, England (OS grid ref SU9079).
- 3 A place name:; A river in Devon, England, which flows south to join the River Mole at Meethe; in full, the River Bray.
- 4 A place name:; A coastal town in County Wicklow, Ireland (Irish grid ref O 2617).
- 5 A place name:; A commune in Saône-et-Loire department, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France.
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 A place name:; A commune in Eure department, Normandy, France.
- 7 A place name:; A township in Pennington County, Minnesota, United States, named after an early settler.
- 8 A place name:; A town in Stephens County, Oklahoma, United States.
- 9 A place name:; A village in Kgalagadi district, Botswana, opposite Bray, South Africa.
- 10 A place name:; A village in Kagisano-Molopo local municipality, North West province, South Africa, opposite Bray, Botswana.
- 11 A place name:; A locality in Robe council area and Wattle Range council area, South Australia.
Antonyms
Example
"I cannot bray like a donkey. I'm a horse."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bray"?
Common synonyms include: abrade, ass cry, atomize, bark, bawl, bay.
How do you use "bray" in a sentence?
I cannot bray like a donkey. I'm a horse.
How do you pronounce "bray"?
Pronounced /bɹeɪ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
The verb is derived from Middle English brayen, brai, bray, braye (“of a person or animal: to vocalize loudly; of the weather: to make a loud sound, howl, roar”), from Old French brai, braire (“of an animal: to bray; of a person: to cry or shout out”) (modern French braire (“of an animal: to bray; of a person: to shout; to cry, weep”)), possibly from Vulgar Latin *bragiō, from Gaulish *bragu (compare Breton breugiñ (“to bray”), brammañ (“to flatulate”), Cornish bramma, brabma (“to flatulate”), Old Irish braigid (“to flatulate”)), from Proto-Celtic *brageti, *bragyeti (“to flatulate”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreHg- (“to flatulate; to stink”); cognate with Latin fragrō (“to smell”). Alternatively, the word could be from a Germanic source, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *brekaną (“to break”), and cognate with frangere (“to break, shatter”). The noun is derived from the verb, or from Middle English brai, brait (“shriek; outcry”), from Old French brai, brait (“a cry”), from braire (“of an animal: to bray; of a person: to shout; to cry, weep”); see above.
Etymology 2
From Middle English brayen (“to break or crush into pieces”), from Anglo-Norman breier, Old French breie, breier, broiier (modern French broyer (“to crush, grind”)), possibly from Frankish *brekan (“to break”), from Proto-Germanic *brekaną (“to break”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (“to break”); thus making the English word a doublet of break.
Etymology 3
The town in Ireland is from Irish Bré, of uncertain origin.