sally

1 of 2

noun

sal·​ly ˈsa-lē How to pronounce sally (audio)
plural sallies
1
: an action of rushing or bursting forth
especially : a sortie of troops from a defensive position to attack the enemy
2
a
: a brief outbreak : outburst
b
: a witty or imaginative saying : quip
3
: a venture or excursion usually off the beaten track : jaunt

sally

2 of 2

verb

sallied; sallying

intransitive verb

1
: to leap out or burst forth suddenly
2
: set out, depart
often used with forth

Examples of sally in a Sentence

Noun a morning sally out to see the historic monuments around the city the final sally made her laugh, and that ended the argument
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The close relationship between Abe and Hudson really got under way after his first disastrous sally as prime minister in 2006–7, when everyone in Japan thought his political career was over. Arthur Herman, National Review, 8 July 2022 Both nominees would be vital to Democrats push to revive Net neutrality, the latest sally in a decades-long battle over whether all Internet traffic should be treated equally by providers. BostonGlobe.com, 26 Oct. 2021 And consider compromise that can bring most everyone to the table in agreement, rather than insisting on a quixotic sally into a windmill that might flip a body into the air and leave it to fall. Erik Sherman, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2021 As Claremont puts a great deal of effort into promoting constitutional principles and the Founding, this is a peculiarly off-base sally. Kyle Smith, National Review, 21 Aug. 2019 Her writing blows sad and then joyful, warm then cool, with surprising sallies into magical realism and religious critique. Madeleine Schwartz, Harper's magazine, 10 June 2019 This sally was undermined when the shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, could not remember the policy’s cost. The Economist, 14 June 2018 But the contests never actually occur, because the musketeers divine in d’Artagnan a man who is willing to risk his life and can assist them in their sallies against Cardinal Richelieu’s belligerent guards. Tobias Grey, WSJ, 16 Mar. 2018
Verb
That may last for a while as buyers who weren’t able to purchase an apartment during the depths of the pandemic restrictions finally sally forth. Jacky Wong, WSJ, 20 June 2022 In 2018, for instance, an American aircraft-carrier sallied into the Arctic Circle for the first time in 30 years, during a huge exercise in Norway. The Economist, 16 May 2020 In addition to this, the two foresters cite other assaults: the beetle colonies that waited out the newly mild winters in the dead wood left by the high winds, and which sallied forth aggressively this year to attack new stands. National Geographic, 13 Jan. 2020 From the school, convoys sallied forth every morning toward the half-dozen sawmills that lay beyond town, hidden behind high plank walls. Felipe Fittipaldi, National Geographic, 28 Aug. 2019 Cleander, who commanded the Praetorian Guards, ordered a body of cavalry to sally forth and disperse the seditious multitude. Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 6 June 2019 In my own hopelessly romantic eyes, Dr. Hawking in the Copley Plaza will always be St. George in a wheelchair, sallying forth to slay the black-hole dragon. Dennis Overbye, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2018 So many people going to the game or other festivities surrounding the game are waiting for temperatures to safely rise above freezing levels before sallying out. Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, 8 Jan. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sally.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle French saillie, from Old French, from saillir to rush forward, from Latin salire to leap; akin to Greek hallesthai to leap

First Known Use

Noun

1560, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1560, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sally was in 1560

Dictionary Entries Near sally

Cite this Entry

“Sally.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sally. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sally

1 of 2 noun
sal·​ly ˈsal-ē How to pronounce sally (audio)
plural sallies
1
: an action of rushing or bursting out
especially : a sudden attack of surrounded troops upon the attackers
2
: a witty remark : quip
3

sally

2 of 2 verb
sallied; sallying
1
: to leap or burst out suddenly
2
: set out sense 2, depart
sallied out to see the town

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