volley

1 of 2

noun

vol·ley ˈvä-lē

plural volleys

Synonyms of volley next

a(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

: a flight of missiles (such as arrows)

: simultaneous discharge of a number of missile weapons

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

: a burst or emission of many things or a large amount at once

received a volley of angry letters

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

volley

2 of 2

verb

volleyed; volleying

transitive verb

: to propel (an object) while in the air and before touching the ground

especially : to hit (a tennis ball) on the volley

: to discharge in or as if in a volley

intransitive verb

: to make a volley

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

: to become discharged in or as if in a volley

volleyer noun

Example Sentences

Noun The tank was hit by a volley of bullets. She was overwhelmed by a volley of questions from the press. Verb She volleyed the shot over the net.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Police officers edged toward their bunker midday Saturday as a Ukrainian multiple rocket launcher roared into action nearby, firing a volley toward Russian positions. —

New York Times, 10 July 2022 The volley of gunfire – believed to be between two groups of people – erupted about 8 p.m. that Friday near the Chevron gas station at 1525 Finley Boulevard. —

Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, 1 Jan. 2023 Europe’s latest economic volley against Russia—a price cap on Russian oil—seems likely to land as a dud. —

Tim Mcdonnell, Quartz, 23 Nov. 2022 The duo volley ideas for different ways to start the documentary. —

Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Jan. 2023 Azarenka nosed ahead by breaking for a 3-2 lead on a leaping, full-extension volley winner with both women at the net. —

Howard Fendrich, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Jan. 2023 Patient backcourt exchanges followed by serve-and-volley to keep Medvedev from camping out behind the baseline to return. —

Christopher Clarey, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2022 This was about 10 seconds after the last volley of shots can be heard from the classrooms -- which was followed by a long pause. —

Ray Sanchez And Peter Nickeas, CNN, 16 July 2022 Video footage then shows chaos break out as the man runs at police officers while swinging his weapons before a volley of shots is fired. —

Francesca Ebel, ajc, 27 Nov. 2021

Verb

Banks and Warden take immense and infectious joy in engineering these scenarios, ratcheting up the ridiculousness to volley with our nerves. —

Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Feb. 2023 Your own feelings for someone could volley between hot and cold today. —

The Astrotwins, ELLE, 30 Nov. 2022 Nevada's attempts to serve and volley their way into a high-scoring affair with Western Michigan were quickly stopped as they were forced on three-and-outs with high frequency. —

Andrew Hammond, USA TODAY, 27 Dec. 2021 Nevada's attempts to serve and volley their way into a high-scoring affair with WMU were quickly stopped as they were forced on three-and-outs with high frequency. —

Andrew Hammond, Detroit Free Press, 27 Dec. 2021 Ivacic double-palmed it away, and Cade Cowell tried to volley the rebound, but smashed it over the bar. —

oregonlive, 5 Aug. 2021 Highsmith would volley back the blame, suggesting that all her character defects, including her queerness, were Mary’s fault. —

New York Times, 19 Apr. 2021 In a ship-on-ship missile battle, opposing naval groups would volley anti-ship missiles at each other while trying to shoot down incoming missiles. —

David Axe, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2021 So get to work with a rebounder that will volley back. —

Popular Science, 18 June 2020 See More

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