bray

play

verb \ ˈbrā \

Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of bray

intransitive verb

:to utter the characteristic loud harsh cry of a donkey

a braying donkey

; also :to utter a sound like a donkey's

bray with laughter

transitive verb

:to utter or play loudly or harshly

"I'm the best!" he brayed.

—

bray

noun

Recent Examples of bray from the Web

Back then nothing signaled success like braying into a first-generation Motorola while sipping some cloudy, rare sake.

— patric kuh, Los Angeles Magazine, "How L.A.’s Most Influential Sushi Chef Redefined Japanese Food," 25 Aug. 2017
Donald Trump is braying about sanctions against North Korea costing them a billion dollars!

— chicago tribune, chicagotribune.com, "Quickly," 8 Aug. 2017
Qatari men in traditional white robes waited in SUVs at the border to identify their camels as the beasts trotted across the remote frontier, braying and kicking up dust, under what the owners said was an informal deal with Saudi border guards.

— author: ibrahim saber, tom finn, Alaska Dispatch News, "Camels caught up in Arab feud reunited with their owners," 20 June 2017
Besides, the clamor for alien disclosure is like braying at the moon.

— NBC News, "Space Entrepreneur Thinks Aliens Are Here. Is He Right?," 5 June 2017
People deserve liberal license to be themselves, and post-breakup people get an extra allowance to bray about cosmic injustice.

— carolyn hax, The Mercury News, "Carolyn Hax: Friend keeps saying breakup was a ‘betrayal’," 16 Apr. 2017
The stock was down to several-decade lows, analysts were braying for a capital hike and the Justice Department was threatening a massive fine.

— jenny strasburg, WSJ, "Meet the CFO-Banker Who May Be Next to Run Deutsche Bank," 22 Mar. 2017
For eight years, Democrats brayed about Reagan the warmonger, Reagan the cowboy, Reagan the racist, Reagan the idiot, Reagan the senile, Reagan the gay-hater.

— carl m. cannon, Orange County Register, "From Reagan’s mouth to Trump’s, Obama’s ears," 15 Jan. 2017
At that braying burst of illegibility — a sound both comic and upsetting — the other members of Mike Reed’s Flesh & Bone lunged into action.

— nate chinen, New York Times, "Preview NYC Winter Jazzfest in 7 Tracks JAN. 4, 2017," 8 Jan. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bray.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of bray

Middle English, from Anglo-French braire to cry, bellow, roar, from Vulgar Latin *bragere, of Celt origin; akin to Old Irish braigid he breaks wind

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First Known Use: 14th century

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