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

It’s all arrayed in the quirky service of a story that’s as interested in the act of archiving as in the meaning of the archive: To collect, to hold, to interpret, Conley’s wonderfully curious robots seem to be saying, is inevitably to merge the subject into the self. —Trey Graham, Washington Post, 18 Apr. 2024

But this defense can be confounded in cases of contested expertise, with rows of Ph.D.s arrayed on each side, offering conflicting accounts. —Zach St. George, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024

Sitting at her workspace with 20 containers of minuscule glass beads arrayed before her, Rachel Ellenbogen spends two days hand-beading each of her clutches. —Sakeina Syed, Vogue, 10 Nov. 2023

Both artists are abstractionists who array mostly bright hues in geometric arrays. —Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024

Sheffield United is not alone in having bought into the idea that the authorities are, for whatever reason, arrayed against it. —Rory Smith, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024

Modest numbers of atoms separated by mountains of light spread out at a glacial pace, both when arranged in 1D lines and when arrayed in 2D grids. —Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024

David Hammons’s tarp paintings, John Chamberlain’s car sculptures, and pictures of his own iPhone, its screen cracked into a million tiny pieces, are arrayed in orderly rows. —Nicole Phelps, Vogue, 2 Mar. 2024

The products arrayed in the president’s video, like Oreos and Wheat Thins, were all examples of the shrinkflation that Mr. Dworsky had documented on his Consumer World website. —Jim Tankersley, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024

Noun

Large plates include lollipop lamb chops served with mint yogurt and salsa roja, From the bar, cocktails range $14-70, beer is $6-8 and a fantastic array of wines $10-18 per glass. —The Arizona Republic, 22 Apr. 2024

The islands' distinctive geography and diverse climates give rise to a rich array of plant life, including unique endemic species that are exclusive to Hawaii, like the spiky, silver ʻāhinahina. —Kathleen Wong, Travel + Leisure, 21 Apr. 2024

One room, devoted to the floral theme, will feature an array of hats with floral motifs. —Nathan Heller, Vogue, 17 Apr. 2024

It's become more difficult to identify motivations behind mass casualty attacks: DHS In the 21st century, such threat actors are aided by a mushrooming array of technological advances that offer new, creative tools – like cyberattacks. —Josh Margolin, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2024

Since taking over in January 2023, Gulden has pushed to speed up decision-making at Adidas and embrace a wider array of sports, instead of focusing primarily on big-money athletic events. —Tim Loh, Fortune Europe, 17 Apr. 2024

The research side of the checkoff world has yielded a surprising array of food innovations, like Egg Beaters, the pre-cracked eggs in a milk carton-esque container that was developed with the help of the American Egg Board. —Tim Forster, Bon Appétit, 16 Apr. 2024

How cool is that? Payment Methods: 4.9/5 Super Slots keeps banking smoothly with popular and convenient payment methods like credit and debit cards, bank transfers, and a wide array of cryptocurrencies. —Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024

The exhibition features an array of objects from the brand like stacks of trunks, fine jewelry, and leather goods that have yet to be seen in North and South America. —Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 15 Apr. 2024

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

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