Adjacent Words

Volley definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

VOL'LEY, n. plu. volleys. [L. volo.]
1. A flight of shot; the discharge of many small arms at once.
2. A burst or emission of many things at once; as a volley of words.
But rattling nonsense to full volleys breaks.
VOL'LEY, v.t. to discharge with a volley.
VOL'LEY, v.i. To throw out or discharge at once.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: rapid simultaneous discharge of firearms; "our fusillade from the left flank caught them by surprise" [syn: fusillade, salvo, volley, burst]
2: a tennis return made by hitting the ball before it bounces [ant: ground stroke] v
1: be dispersed in a volley; "gun shots volleyed at the attackers"
2: hit before it touches the ground; "volley the tennis ball"
3: discharge in, or as if in, a volley; "the attackers volleyed gunshots at the civilians"
4: make a volley
5: utter rapidly; "volley a string of curses"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun (plural volleys) Etymology: Middle French volee flight, from voler to fly, from Old French, from Latin volare Date: 1573 1. a. a flight of missiles (as arrows) b. simultaneous discharge of a number of missile weapons c. one round per gun in a battery fired as soon as a gun is ready without regard to order d. (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 2. a. a burst or emission of many things or a large amount at once <received a volley of angry letters> <a volley of praise> b. a burst of simultaneous or immediately sequential nerve impulses passing to an end organ, synapse, or center II. verb (volleyed; volleying) Date: 1591 transitive verb 1. to discharge in or as if in a volley 2. to propel (an object) while in the air and before touching the ground; especially to hit (a tennis ball) on the volley intransitive verb 1. to become discharged in or as if in a volley 2. to make a volley; specifically to volley an object of play (as in tennis) • volleyer noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. (pl. -eys) 1 a the simultaneous discharge of a number of weapons. b the bullets etc. discharged in a volley. 2 (usu. foll. by of) a noisy emission of oaths etc. in quick succession. 3 Tennis the return of a ball in play before it touches the ground. 4 Football the kicking of a ball in play before it touches the ground. 5 Cricket a a ball pitched right up to the batsman or the stumps without bouncing. b the pitching of the ball in this way. --v. (-eys, -eyed) 1 tr. (also absol.) Tennis & Football return or send (a ball) by a volley. 2 tr. & absol. discharge (bullets, abuse, etc.) in a volley. 3 intr. (of bullets etc.) fly in a volley. 4 intr. (of guns etc.) sound together. 5 intr. make a sound like a volley of artillery. Derivatives: volleyer n. Etymology: F volée ult. f. L volare fly

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Volley Vol"ley, n.; pl. Volleys. [F. vol['e]e; flight, a volley, or discharge of several guns, fr. voler to fly, L. volare. See Volatile.] 1. A flight of missiles, as arrows, bullets, or the like; the simultaneous discharge of a number of small arms. Fiery darts in flaming volleys flew. --Milton. Each volley tells that thousands cease to breathe. --Byron. 2. A burst or emission of many things at once; as, a volley of words. ``This volley of oaths.'' --B. Jonson. Rattling nonsense in full volleys breaks. --Pope. 3. (a) (Tennis) A return of the ball before it touches the ground. (b) (Cricket) A sending of the ball full to the top of the wicket.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Volley Vol"ley, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Volleyed; p. pr. & vb. n. Volleying.] To discharge with, or as with, a volley.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Volley Vol"ley, v. i. 1. To be thrown out, or discharged, at once; to be discharged in a volley, or as if in a volley; to make a volley or volleys. --Tennyson. 2. (a) (Tennis) To return the ball before it touches the ground. (b) (Cricket) To send the ball full to the top of the wicket. --R. A. Proctor.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(volleys, volleying, volleyed) 1. In sport, if someone volleys the ball, they hit it before it touches the ground. He volleyed the ball spectacularly into the far corner of the net... McNeil volleyed more effectively in the second set. VERB: V n prep/adv, V • Volley is also a noun. She hit most of the winning volleys. N-COUNT 2. A volley of gunfire is a lot of bullets that travel through the air at the same time. It's still not known how many died in the volleys of gunfire... N-COUNT: oft N of n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Flight of shot, salvo. 2. Discharge, emission, burst, explosion, blast, storm, shower. 3. Vacate, annul, nullify, make null.

Moby Thesaurus

antiaircraft barrage, arrow, arrowhead, badinage, bang, bantering, barb, bark, barrage, blast, bobtailed arrow, bolt, bombardment, bowshot, box barrage, broadside, bullet, burst, cannon, cannonade, cannonry, chested arrow, cloth yard shaft, crack, creeping barrage, crossfire, dart, deluge, detonation, discharge, drumfire, ejection, emergency barrage, enfilade, exchange, explosion, flight, flood, fulmination, fusillade, give and take, gun, gunfire, gunshot, hail, interaction, inundation, mortar barrage, normal barrage, outbreak, outpouring, pop, potshot, quarrel, reciprocity, reed, salvo, shaft, shot, shower, spray, standing barrage, stoneshot, storm, tattoo, to-and-fro, torrent, volleying