raynoun
uk/reɪ/us/reɪ/ray noun (BEAM)
B2 [ C ] a narrow beam of light, heat, etc. travelling in a straight line from its place of origin:
A ray of sunshine shone through a gap in the clouds.
Light rays bend as they pass from air to water.
catch some/a few rays informal
to stay outside in the sun for a period of time:
I'm going out to catch a few rays before lunch.
More examples
- The room was small and dark, without so much as a ray of light to brighten the gloom.
- The letter offered us a ray of hope.
- The alarm emits infra-red rays which are used to detect any intruder.
- Through the window came the last few oblique rays of evening sunshine.
- A few rays of sunlight pierced the smoke.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Quantities & units of light
- aureole
- beam
- blip
- bright
- flash
- glare
- gleam
- glint
- halo
- lustre
- lux
- pencil
- pinprick
- point
- shaft
- sheen
- shine
- sparkle
- sunbeam
- twinkle
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
The skin, & skin colour
ray noun (SMALL AMOUNT)
C2 [ C ] a small amount of a feeling that makes you feel happier or more full of hope:
There's still a ray of hope that the missing child will be found alive.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Words meaning small pieces and amounts
- by a nose idiom
- chip
- clipping
- crumb
- dollop
- droplet
- flake
- germ
- jot
- nose
- pat
- patch
- pennyworth
- pinpoint
- scattering
- scintilla
- shadow
- shard
- shred
- slip
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ray noun (FISH)
[ C ] a large, flat sea fish with a long, narrow tail
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Sea fish
- anchovy
- barracuda
- bream
- cod
- coley
- flying fish
- groper
- haddock
- hake
- halibut
- pollack
- remora
- salmon
- salmon trout
- sardine
- swordfish
- trout
- tuna
- turbot
- white pointer
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ray noun (MUSIC)
[ S ] the musical note re
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Notes of the musical scale
- A, a
- B, b
- C, c
- D, d
- doh
- E, e
- flat
- la
- lah
- lah 1
- major
- mi
- middle C
- minor
- register
- soh
- sol
- sol-fa
- te
- ti
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Idiom(s)
ray of sunshine