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Ray

/ɹeɪ/

A beam of light or radiation.

Full Dictionary Entry

📖 Definitions of "Ray"

noun

1
A beam of light or radiation.
"I saw a ray of light through the clouds."
2
A rib-like reinforcement of bone or cartilage in a fish's fin.
3
One of the spheromeres of a radiate, especially one of the arms of a starfish or an ophiuran.
4
A radiating part of a flower or plant; the marginal florets of a compound flower, such as an aster or a sunflower; one of the pedicels of an umbel or other circular flower cluster; radius.

verb

1
To emit something as if in rays.
2
To radiate as if in rays.

🔄 Synonyms of "Ray"

9 synonyms found via WordNet and Google Books.

Word	Definition
beamnoun	(ambitransitive) To emit beams of light; to shine; to radiate.
radiateverb	(transitive) To emit rays or waves.
ray of lightnoun	(physics) A path that a photon or a group of photons takes through space, visible as a column of light.
irradiateverb	(transitive) To send out (heat, light, or some other form of radiation) in the form of rays; to radiate.
renoun	(music) A syllable used in solfège to represent the second note of a major scale.
light beam	A light beam or beam of light is a directional projection of light energy radiating from a light source.
beam of light	the second full-length album by the Japanese rock band One Ok Rock, released on May 28, 2008.
shaft of lightnoun	a column of light (as from a beacon)
shaftnoun	The long, narrow, central body of a spear, arrow, or javelin.

💡 Words with a Similar Meaning to "Ray"

Found via reverse dictionary — words that share a conceptual meaning.

Word	Definition
radiateverb	(transitive) To emit rays or waves.
irradiateverb	(transitive) To send out (heat, light, or some other form of radiation) in the form of rays; to radiate.
ray of lightnoun	(physics) A path that a photon or a group of photons takes through space, visible as a column of light.
beamnoun	(ambitransitive) To emit beams of light; to shine; to radiate.
shaftnoun	The long, narrow, central body of a spear, arrow, or javelin.
renoun	(music) A syllable used in solfège to represent the second note of a major scale.
beam of light	the second full-length album by the Japanese rock band One Ok Rock, released on May 28, 2008.
light beam	A light beam or beam of light is a directional projection of light energy radiating from a light source.
shaft of lightnoun	a column of light (as from a beacon)
searchlightnoun	A light source that projects a bright beam of light in any direction, generally for military use.
sunbeamnoun	A ray of sunlight; especially, a visible, narrow, and intense (relative to ambient light) ray of sunlight (as revealed by, for example, its diffraction among dust particles).
radiationnoun	The transfer of energy via radiation.
x-raynoun	Short wavelength electromagnetic radiation usually produced by bombarding a metal target in a vacuum. Used to create images of the internal structure of objects; this is possible because X-rays pass through most objects and can expose photographic film.
lightnoun	(physics, uncountable) Electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range visible to the human eye (about 400–750 nanometers): visible light.
lightningnoun	A flash of light produced by short-duration, high-voltage discharge of electricity within a cloud, between clouds, or between a cloud and the earth.
spectrometrynoun	(physics, analytical chemistry) The measurement of the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation, especially any of several techniques used to analyze the structure of molecules; the measurement of spectra of things other than radiation, such as the masses of molecules and their breakdown products
beaconnoun	(figurative) That which gives notice of danger, hope, etc., or keeps people on the correct path; a source of inspiration.
glownoun	(intransitive) To emit heat and light without a flame.
distancenoun	(countable) An amount of space between points (often geographical points), usually (but not necessarily) measured along a straight line.
rangenoun	A line or series of mountains, buildings, etc.