ray

noun

cartilaginous fishes having horizontally flattened bodies and enlarged winglike pectoral fins with gills on the underside

any of the stiff bony spines in the fin of a fish

the syllable naming the second (supertonic) note of any major scale in solmization

a group of nearly parallel lines of electromagnetic radiation

(mathematics) a straight line extending from a point

a branch of an umbel or an umbelliform inflorescence

a column of light (as from a beacon)

verb

expose to radiation

extend or spread outward from a center or focus or inward towards a center

emit as rays

Roots

radiusray- · Latin · beam, spoke of a wheel

Synonyms for ray

beamn radiatev sunbeamn

Synonyms & related words for ray

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of ray — including beam, radiate, sunbeam. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to ray

Explore words related to ray — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include raylet, raylike, triactinal, refringency, polyactine, polyactinal, perradius, fogdog. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for ray

Common synonyms for ray include beam, radiate, sunbeam — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does ray come from?

The word ray breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root ray, from Latin radius (“beam, spoke of a wheel”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.