array

1 of 2

verb

ar·​ray ə-ˈrā 

arrayed; arraying; arrays

transitive verb

1

: to dress or decorate especially in splendid or impressive attire : adorn

… he had already arrayed himself in his best clothes.

—Thomas Hardy

2

a

: to set or place in order : draw up, marshal

the forces arrayed against us

b

: to set or set forth in order (something, such as a jury) for the trial of a cause

3

: to arrange or display in or as if in an array

The … data are arrayed in descending order.

—Ed Burnett

arrayer noun

array

2 of 2

noun

1

: an imposing group : large number

faced a whole array of problems

also : variety, assortment

a broad array of styles

2

a

: a regular and imposing grouping or arrangement : order

lined up … in soldierly array

—Donald Barthelme

b

law : an orderly listing of jurors impaneled

3

a

: clothing, attire

b

: rich or beautiful apparel : finery

4

: a body of soldiers : militia

the baron and his feudal array

5

a(1)

: a number of mathematical elements arranged in rows and columns

(2)

: a data structure in which similar elements of data are arranged in a table

b

: a series of statistical data arranged in classes in order of magnitude

6

: a group of elements forming a complete unit

an antenna array

Synonyms

Verb

• adorn
• beautify
• bedeck
• bedizen
• blazon
• caparison
• deck
• decorate
• do
• do up
• doll up
• drape
• dress
• embellish
• emblaze
• emboss
• enrich
• fancify
• fancy up
• festoon
• garnish
• glitz (up)
• grace
• gussy up
• ornament
• pretty (up)
• trim

Noun

• assemblage
• band
• bank
• batch
• battery
• block
• bunch
• clot
• clump
• cluster
• clutch
• collection
• constellation
• group
• grouping
• huddle
• knot
• lot
• muster
• package
• parcel
• passel
• set
• suite

Examples of array in a Sentence

Verb

She arrayed herself in rich velvets and satins.

a door arrayed for the holidays with a beautiful evergreen wreath

Noun

an array of solar panels

an array of baseball gloves in the corner of his room

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

My father would drive me to the Falls Road roundhouse where the old steam engines were arrayed in their stalls in contrast to the fast and sleek new trains at the nearby Pennsylvania and Mount Royal stations. —Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 29 Mar. 2025

Always far-seeing, always three steps ahead in connecting the dots, Michael spotted in Iran’s revolutionary jihadism, in its patrons as well as its proxies, the threads now weaved into what may be the most formidable alliance ever arrayed against the United States. —Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 20 May 2025

Noun

This beam strikes a parabolic mirror that scatters the light and shines it on an array of dozens of photovoltaic calls. —New Atlas, 15 June 2025

Donald Trump spoke briefly at the 250th anniversary Army parade, after reviewing a procession of thousands of soldiers in present and past uniforms, an array of military hardware, aerial flyovers and a large fireworks display. —Ted Johnson, Deadline, 14 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English arayen, arrayen "to put in order, prepare, marshal (troops), equip, adorn," borrowed from Anglo-French arraier, arreyer, aroier "to arrange, order, marshal, set in order (a jury, assize), equip, attire, adorn" (continental Old French areer), going back to Vulgar Latin *arrēdāre, from Latin ad- ad- + Vulgar Latin *-rēdāre, in *conrēdāre, presumed adaptation of Gothic garedan "to make provision for" — more at curry entry 1

Note: The forms arrai-, aroi- presumably represent generalizations of the tonic stem of areer. The verb *arrēdāre is common to most Romance languages: Old Occitan arezar "to put in order," Catalan arrear "to provide," Spanish, "to adorn, decorate," Italian arredare "to furnish, equip."

Noun

Middle English aray, array, arraye "preparation, arrangement, condition, line of soldiers, equipment, adornment," borrowed from Anglo-French arrai, arraie "order, arrangement, condition, ordered list of jurors, body of men, entourage, equipment," noun derivative of arraier "to order, array entry 1"

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Rhymes for array

• airway
• allay
• archway
• ashtray
• astray
• aue
• away
• ballet
• belay
• beltway
• beret
• betray

Kids Definition

array

1 of 2 verb

ar·​ray ə-ˈrā 

1

: to set in order : draw up

soldiers arrayed for review

2

: to dress especially in fine clothing : adorn

arrayer noun

array

2 of 2 noun

1

: regular order or arrangement

also : persons (as troops) in array

2

: rich or beautiful clothing

3

: an impressive group : large number

a whole array of problems

also : variety sense 2, assortment

4

: a group of mathematical elements (as numbers or letters) arranged in rows and columns

Legal Definition

array

1 of 2 transitive verb

ar·​ray ə-ˈrā 

: to set (a jury) for trial

specifically : to set (a jury) by calling out the names of the jurors one at a time compare impanel

array

2 of 2 noun

: the group of people summoned to serve as jurors from which the jury will be chosen

also : a list of the jurors' names see also challenge to the array at challenge compare venire