volley

¹vol·ley

noun \ˈvä-lē\

plural volleys

Definition of VOLLEY

1

a : a flight of missiles (as arrows)

b : simultaneous discharge of a number of missile weapons

c : one round per gun in a battery fired as soon as a gun is ready without regard to order

d (1) : the flight of the ball (as in volleyball or tennis) or its course before striking the ground; also : a return of the ball before it touches the ground (2) : a kick of the ball in soccer before it rebounds (3) : the exchange of the shuttlecock in badminton following the serve

2

a : a burst or emission of many things or a large amount at once <received a volley of angry letters> <a volley of praise>

b : a burst of simultaneous or immediately sequential nerve impulses passing to an end organ, synapse, or center

Examples of VOLLEY

1. The tank was hit by a volley of bullets.
2. She was overwhelmed by a volley of questions from the press.

Origin of VOLLEY

Middle French volee flight, from voler to fly, from Old French, from Latin volare

First Known Use: 1573

Related to VOLLEY

Synonyms

blitz, blitzkrieg, bombardment, cannonade, drumbeat, drumfire, flurry, fusillade, hail, salvo, shower, storm, barrage

Related Words

broadside, earful; avalanche, burst, cataclysm, cataract, deluge, discharge, engulfment, flood, flood tide, flush, gush, inundation, outburst, outflow, outpouring, overflow, rash, spate, surge, torrent; current, river, stream, tide; excess, glut, overabundance, overage, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus

Near Antonyms

dribble, drip, trickle

Rhymes with VOLLEY

Bali, brolly, Cali, collie, colly, Dalí, dolly, folly, golly, holly, jolly, lolly, Mali, molly, Pali, poly, quale, trolley

²volley

verb

vol·leyedvol·ley·ing

Definition of VOLLEY

transitive verb

1

: to discharge in or as if in a volley

2

: to propel (an object) while in the air and before touching the ground; especially : to hit (a tennis ball) on the volley

intransitive verb

1

: to become discharged in or as if in a volley

2

: to make a volley; specifically : to volley an object of play (as in tennis)

— vol·ley·er noun

Examples of VOLLEY

1. She volleyed the shot over the net.

First Known Use of VOLLEY

1591

Rhymes with VOLLEY

dolly, jolly, trolley

vol·ley

noun \ˈväl-ē\   (Medical Dictionary)

plural ; volleys

Medical Definition of VOLLEY

: a burst of simultaneous or immediately sequential nerve impulses passing to an end organ, synapse, or center