• IPA^(key):/spɹeɪ/

• Audio(US):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-eɪ

FromMiddle Dutchsprāien,sprayen,spraeyen(“to spray, sprinkle, spread”), ultimately fromProto-Germanic*sprēwijaną(“to spray, sprinkle”), fromProto-Indo-European*(s)per-(“to sow, scatter”).

Cognate withMiddle High Germanspræjen,spræwen(“to squirt, spray, dust, splash, straw”), Danish dialectalspråe(“to open up, burst forth”), Swedish dialectalsprå(“to sprout, shoot forth, burst”), Norwegian dialectalspra,spræ(“to splash, splatter, spout, burst forth”),Dutchsproeien(“to spray, sprinkle”),Germansprühen(“to spray, sparkle”).

spray (countable anduncountable,pluralsprays)

1. A fine, gentle, dispersedmist ofliquid.

   The sailor could feel thespray from the waves.

   • 1952,Nikos Kazantzakis, chapter 1, in Carl Wildman, transl.,Zorba the Greek, New York, N.Y.:Simon & Schuster, translation ofΒίος και πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά [Víos kai politeía tou Aléxi Zormpá],→ISBN,page 3:

     A strongsirocco was blowing thespray from the waves as far as the little café, whose glass doors were shut. The café reeked of brewing sage and human beings whose breath steamed the windows because of the cold outside.

2. (figuratively) Something resembling a spray of liquid.
   • 1961 November 10,Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, inCatch-22 […], New York, N.Y.:Simon and Schuster,→OCLC,page171:

     Nurse Cramer had a cute nose and a radiant, blooming complexion dotted with fetchingsprays of adorable freckles that Yossarian detested.

3. (countable) A pressurized container; anatomizer.

   Synonym:spray can

4. (countable) Any of numerous commercial products, including paints, cosmetics, and insecticides, that are dispensed from containers in this manner.

   Synonym:spray can

5. (medicine,countable) A jet of fine medicated vapour, used either as an application to a diseased part or to charge the air of a room with a disinfectant or a deodorizer.
6. (metalworking,countable) A side channel or branch of therunner of aflask, made to distribute the metal to all parts of themold.
7. (metalworking,countable) A group ofcastings made in the same mold and connected bysprues formed in the runner and its branches.^[1]
8. (computing,countable) Theallocation andfilling of blocks of memory with the same byte sequence, hoping to establish that sequence in a certain predetermined location as part of anexploit.
   • 2015, Herbert Bos, Fabian Monrose, Gregory Blanc,Research in Attacks, Intrusions, and Defenses: 18th International Symposium:

     This approach would be altered for an optimalomelette based exploit. One would spray the heap with the omelette code solely, then load a single copy of the additional shellcodeeggs into memory outside the target region for thespray.

9. (Australia) A loudscolding orreprimand, usually delivered by a sports coach or similar figure.
   • 2008, Robert Harvey,Harves: Strength Through Loyalty, Macmillan Publishers Aus.,→ISBN, page119:

     On match days he could give a goodspray, and in many ways he was an old-fashioned coach, having learned a lot of his approach from Ron Barassi.

   • 2008, Kevin Hillier,Rocket Science: The Biography of Rodney Eade, Macmillan Publishers Aus.,→ISBN, page151:

     Expectations of what they will put up with have changed and a bigspray probably doesn't have the effect it used to have. It certainly worked for me, I would get really aggressive and get fired up 'cause it's a motivational device they used.

   • 2018, Paul Amy,Fabulous Fred: The Strife and Times of Fred Cook, Melbourne Books,→ISBN:

     He could give a bloody goodspray, Bricey,' Cook says. 'He'd be frothing at the mouth after he'd finished.

• → Esperanto:spraji
• → Turkish:sprey

spray (third-person singular simple presentsprays,present participlespraying,simple past and past participlesprayed)

1. (transitive) Toproject a liquid in adispersive manner toward something.

   The firemensprayed the house.

   Using a water cannon, the national guardsprayed the protesters.

2. (ergative) To project in a dispersive manner.

   Spray some ointment on that scratch.

   The watersprayed out of the hose.

3. (transitive,figurative) To project many small items dispersively.
   • 2019 November 21, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, inThe Guardian‎^[1]:

     The sprawl of sheds like Magna Parks 1 to 3 are a particularly vivid measure, because they host the final moment of relative stasis for millions of products that are thensprayed out to homes in every direction.

   • 2013 June 14,Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, inThe Guardian Weekly, volume189, number 1, page18:

     Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets,spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.

4. (intransitive,zoology) Tourinate in order to markterritory.
5. (transitive,computing,computer security) Toallocateblocks ofmemory from (aheap, etc.), and fill them with the samebytesequence, hoping to establish that sequence in a certain predetermined location as part of anexploit.

   tospray the heap of a target process

   • 2015, Herbert Bos, Fabian Monrose, Gregory Blanc,Research in Attacks, Intrusions, and Defenses: 18th International Symposium:

     This approach would be altered for an optimalomelette based exploit. One wouldspray the heap with the omelette code solely, then load a single copy of the additional shellcodeeggs into memory outside the target region for the spray.

6. (transitive,soccer) To pass (a ball), usually laterally across the field and often a long distance.
   • 2012 February 1, Ash Rose,The QPR Miscellany, The History Press,→ISBN:

     Kevin McLeodsprayed the ball across from the left flank where a raging Ainsworth met it on the volley from 25 yards out, crashing the ball into the roof of the net.

   • 2013 August 11, Jamal Orme,The Victory Boys, Kube Publishing Ltd,→ISBN, page13:

     Yunussprayed it to the wing where Ali was in some space.

7. (transitive,Australian rules football) To kick (a ball) poorly and in an unintended direction.
   • 2011, Ashley Browne,Grand Finals: The Stories Behind the Premier Teams of the Victorian Football League. 1897-1938, Slattery Media Group,→ISBN, page143:

     Despite a goal to Vin Gardiner for Carlton, courtesy of an infringement, the Blues squandered many opportunities in attack. Theysprayed the ball with their field kicking, and in their path toward goal.

   • 2016 June 28, Nick Richardson,The Game of Their Lives, Macmillan Publishers Aus.,→ISBN:

     But once again their forwards, including Sloss,sprayed the ball in front of goal and squandered their momentum by kicking a solitary goal and six careless behinds.

8. (climbing,slang,derogatory) To giveunwantedadvice.
9. (Nigeria) Toshower guests dancing at a function withmoney
   • 2019, “Nigeria’s money-spraying culture: A national embarassment?^[sic]”, inApa News‎^[2]:

     “If a celebrator is dancing and youspray him/her, you may go to jail from the party venue because the law enforcement agents will be there, waiting to arrest you.

• say it, don't spray it
• sprayable
• spray and pray
• spray-on

FromMiddle Englishspray, fromOld English*spræġ,sprei (found in place names such as that ofSpreyton, England), of unknown origin.

spray (countable anduncountable,pluralsprays)

1. (countable) A smallbranch of flowers or berries.

   The bridesmaid carried aspray of lily-of-the-valley.

   • a.1674,John Milton, “To the Nightingale”, inParadise Regain’d, Birmingham: J. and R. Tonson and S. Draper, published1752,page506:

     O Nightingale, that on yon bloomyſpray / Warbleſt at eve, when all the woods are ſtill, / Thou with freſh hope the lover’s heart doſt fill, / While the jolly hours lead on propitious May.

   • 1700,[John] Dryden, “The Flower and the Leaf: Or, The Lady in the Arbour. A Vision.”, inFables Ancient and Modern; […], London:[…]Jacob Tonson, […],→OCLC,page385:

     The painted Birds, Companions of the Spring, / Hopping fromSpray toSpray, were heard to ſing ; / Both Eyes and Ears receiv’d a like Delight, / Enchanting Muſick, and a charming Sight.

2. (countable) A collective body of small branches.

   The tree has a beautifulspray.

   • a.1426,Thomas Hoccleve, “The recordyng of aungeles song of the Natiuite of oure lady”, inFrederick James Furnivall, editor,Hoccleve's Works, volume III (in Middle English), London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., published1897, lines 8–14,page xlvi:

     A blisful flour, owt of thisspray schal springe ; / The fruyt þer-of schal be ful precïous ; / A causë haue [we] for to ioye & synge, / In honure of þat maidë gracïous, / That gret comfort schal cause[n] vnto vs ; / ffor now schal faste oure company encrees, / And god with man schal makë smallë pees.

     A blissful flower out will spring out of thisspray; / Its fruit shall be very precious; / We have cause for joy and song, / In honour of that gracious maid, / Who will make us very comfortable; / for now our company will grow quickly, / And man will make peace with God.

   • c.1596, Edmund Spenser,The Faerie Queene, Book VII, Canto VII:

     And from the Trees did lop the needlessSpray;

3. (uncountable) Branches and twigs collectively;foliage.
   • a.1300,Robert of Gloucester, “Henricus”, inWilliam Aldis Wright, editor,The Metrical Chronicle of Robert of Gloucester (in Middle English), London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, published1887, part I,page755:

     Gret fur he made þer aniȝt of wode & ofsprai.

     There, at night, he made a great box out of wood andspray.

   • 1789,William Blake, “A Dream”, inSongs of Innocence:

     Troubled, 'wilder'd, and forlorn, / Dark, benighted, travel-worn, / Over many a tangledspray, / All heart-broke I heard her say

   • a.1843,John Claudius Loudon, “Catalogue of Culinary Vegetables”, inThe Suburban Horticulturalist, London: Bradbury and Evans, published1845,page631:

     The pea, being atendrilled climber, whenever it is to be cultivated to the greatest advantage, ought to be supported by pea sticks, which are branches of trees or shrubs well furnished withspray, and of lengths suited to the height to which the plants grow.

4. (countable,obsolete) Anorchard.
5. (countable) An ornament or design that resembles a branch.

• Prays,Sarpy,prays,raspy,spary

Borrowed fromEnglishspray.

• IPA^(key):/spreː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation:spray

spray m (pluralsprays)

1. spray(liquid commercial product sold in a spray container)

• haarspray
• verfspray

Borrowed fromEnglishspray.

• IPA^(key):/ˈsprei̯/,[ˈs̠pre̞i̯]
• Rhymes:-ei
• Hyphenation^(key):spray

spray

1. spray(device for spraying)

• Many of the inflected forms, especially the plurals, are somewhat awkward. Therefore, it may be advisable to use appropriate synonyms for these cases, such asspraypullo,spraytölkki,suihke,suihkepullo.

• suihke
• suihkepullo

• “spray”, inKielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[3] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki:Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland),2004–, retrieved2023-07-03

spray m (pluralsprays)

1. spray can

• spré,szpré

FromEnglishspray.

• IPA^(key):[ˈspreː],[ˈspreːj],[ˈʃpreː],[ˈʃpreːj]
• Hyphenation:spray
• Rhymes:-reː,-eːj

spray (pluralspray-k)

1. spray(commercial product dispensed from a container)

• spraye

FromOld English*spræġ,sprei (found in place names such as that ofSpreyton, England), of unknown origin.

• IPA^(key):/sprɛi̯/

spray (pluralsprayes)

1. branch,shoot, ortwig of a tree

• English:spray
• Yola:spraay

• “sprai,n.(1).”, inMED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.:University of Michigan,2007.

FromEnglishspray.

spray m (definite singularsprayen,indefinite pluralsprayer,definite pluralsprayene)

1. spray

• hårspray
• nesespray
• sprayboks
• spraymaling

• spraye

spray

1. imperative ofspraye

• “spray” inThe Bokmål Dictionary.

FromEnglishspray.

spray m (definite singularsprayen,indefinite pluralsprayar,definite pluralsprayane)

1. spray

• hårspray
• sprayboks

• spraye

• “spray” inThe Nynorsk Dictionary.

• sprej

Unadapted borrowing fromEnglishspray.

• IPA^(key):/ˈsprɛj/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes:-ɛj
• Syllabification:spray

spray m inan

1. spray(fine, gentle, dispersed mist of liquid)
2. aerosolspray(liquid commercial product sold in a spray container)

• spray in Polish dictionaries at PWN

• (Brazilian pronunciation spelling)esprei

Unadapted borrowing fromEnglishspray.

spray m (pluralsprays)

1. spray;atomizer(pressurised container with a nozzle that lets out a spray)

   Synonyms:atomizador,aerossol,pulverizador

2. spray(fine, gentle, disperse mist of liquid)

   Synonym:borrifo

• “spray”, inMichaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos,2015–2025
• “spray”, inDicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora,2003–2025

Unadapted borrowing fromEnglishspray.

• IPA^(key):/sprej/
• IPA^(key):/ʃprej/ – folk common pronunciation.
• Rhymes:-ej
• Hyphenation:spray

spray n (pluralsprayuri)

1. spray

Unadapted borrowing fromEnglishspray.

• IPA^(key):/esˈpɾai/[esˈpɾai̯]
  • Rhymes:-ai
• IPA^(key):/esˈpɾei/[esˈpɾei̯]
  • Rhymes:-ei

spray m (pluralspraysorspray)

1. Alternative form ofespray

According toRoyal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

• “spray”, inDiccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8,Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish:Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

• sprej

Borrowed fromEnglishspray. Attested since 1920.

spray c

1. spray (especially when sprayed from a spray can or spray bottle or the like)

• sprayburk(“spray can”)
• sprayflaska(“spray bottle”)

• spraya

• sprut
• spruta

• spray inSvensk ordbok (SO)
• spray inSvenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• spray inSvenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)