tray

noun

ˈtrā 

: an open receptacle with a flat bottom and a low rim for holding, carrying, or exhibiting articles

trayful

ˈtrā-ˌfu̇l 

noun

Examples of tray in a Sentence

She carried the tray of food to our table.

a car with several storage trays

Recent Examples on the Web

San Martin was also tasked with grabbing the cash tray, which contained $17,000. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2026

People distractedly pluck hors d’oeuvres or cocktails from servers walking around with trays, more interested in the breeding information on their iPads than the catering. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2026

Making a tray of Thanksgiving appetizers should not feel like cooking a second dinner. — Joe Sevier, Bon Appetit Magazine, 29 Oct. 2026

First, locate the OneDrive icon in your system tray and navigate to Settings > Sync and Backup > Manage Backup. — Chris Hoffman, PC Magazine, 28 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English trīg, trēg; akin to Old Swedish trø wooden grain measure and probably to Old English trēow tree — more at tree entry 1

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing tray

• baking tray
• ice cube tray
• in tray
• litter tray
• out tray
• tea tray

Rhymes for tray

• ay
• bay
• bey
• brae
• cay
• chez
• dey
• dray
• fay
• fey
• flay
• fray

Kids Definition

tray

noun

ˈtrā 

: an open container with flat bottom and low rim for holding, carrying, or exhibiting articles

trayful

-ˌfu̇l 

noun

Medical Definition

tray

noun

ˈtrā 

: an appliance consisting of a flanged body and a handle for use in holding plastic material against the gums or teeth in making negative impressions for dentures