sally

[ sal-ee ]
See synonyms for sally on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural sal·lies.
  1. a sortie of troops from a besieged place upon an enemy.

  2. a sudden rushing forth or activity.

  1. an excursion or trip, usually off the main course.

  2. an outburst or flight of passion, fancy, etc.: a sally of anger.

  3. a clever, witty, or fanciful remark.

  4. Carpentry. a projection, as of the end of a rafter beyond the notch by which the rafter is fitted over the wall plate.

verb (used without object),sal·lied, sal·ly·ing.
  1. to make a sally, as a body of troops from a besieged place.

  2. to set out on a side trip or excursion.

  1. to set out briskly or energetically.

  2. (of things) to issue forth.

Origin of sally

1
1535–45; <Middle French saillie attack, noun use of feminine past participle of saillir to rush forward <Latin salīre to leap

Other words for sally

Other words from sally

  • sal·li·er, noun
  • outsally, verb (used with object), out·sal·lied, out·sal·ly·ing.
  • un·sal·ly·ing, adjective

Other definitions for Sally (2 of 2)

Sally

or Sal·lie

[ sal-ee ]

noun
  1. a female given name, form of Sarah.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sally in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sally (1 of 3)

sally1

/ (ˈsælɪ) /


nounplural -lies
  1. a sudden violent excursion, esp by besieged forces to attack the besiegers; sortie

  2. a sudden outburst or emergence into action, expression, or emotion

  1. an excursion or jaunt

  2. a jocular retort

verb-lies, -lying or -lied (intr)
  1. to make a sudden violent excursion

  2. (often foll by forth) to go out on an expedition, etc

  1. to come, go, or set out in an energetic manner

  2. to rush out suddenly

Origin of sally

1
C16: from Old French saillie, from saillir to dash forwards, from Latin salīre to leap

Derived forms of sally

  • sallier, noun

British Dictionary definitions for sally (2 of 3)

sally2

/ (ˈsælɪ) /


nounplural -lies
  1. the lower part of a bell rope, where it is caught at handstroke, into which coloured wool is woven to make a grip

Origin of sally

2
C19: perhaps from an obsolete or dialect sense of sally 1 leaping movement

British Dictionary definitions for Sally (3 of 3)

Sally

/ (ˈsælɪ) /


nounplural -lies
  1. a member of the Salvation Army

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012