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volley - 8 dictionary results

vol⋅ley

  [vol-ee] noun, plural -leys, verb, -leyed, -ley⋅ing.
Use volley in a Sentence
–noun
1. the simultaneous discharge of a number of missiles or firearms.
2. the missiles so discharged.
3. a burst or outpouring of many things at once or in quick succession: a volley of protests.
4. Tennis.
a. the flight of the ball before it hits the ground.
b. the return of the ball before it hits the ground.
5. Soccer. a kick of the ball before it bounces on the ground.
6. Cricket. a ball so bowled that it hits the wicket before it touches the ground.
7. Mining. the explosion of several charges at one time.
–verb (used with object)
8. to discharge in or as in a volley.
9. Tennis. to return (the ball) before it hits the ground.
10. Soccer. to kick (the ball) before it bounces on the ground.
11. Cricket. to bowl (a ball) in such a manner that it is pitched near the top of the wicket.
–verb (used without object)
12. to fly or be discharged together, as missiles.
13. to move or proceed with great rapidity, as in a volley.
14. to fire a volley; sound together, as firearms.
15. Tennis, Soccer. to return the ball before it touches the ground.
Origin:
1565–75; < MF volee flight, n. use of fem. ptp. of voler to fly < L volāre

Related forms:
vol⋅ley⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To volley
vol·ley   (vŏl'ē)   
n.   pl. vol·leys
    1. A simultaneous discharge of a number of missiles.
    2. The missiles thus discharged.
    3. The flight of a ball before it touches the ground: kicked the soccer ball on the volley.
    4. A shot, especially in tennis, made by striking the ball before it touches the ground.
  2. A bursting forth of many things together: a volley of oaths.
  3. Sports
    1. The flight of a ball before it touches the ground: kicked the soccer ball on the volley.
    2. A shot, especially in tennis, made by striking the ball before it touches the ground.
v.   vol·leyed, vol·ley·ing, vol·leys

v.   tr.
  1. To discharge in or as if in a volley: volley musket shots at the attackers.
  2. Sports To strike (a tennis ball, for example) before it touches the ground.
v.   intr.
  1. To be discharged in or as if in a volley.
  2. Sports To make a volley, especially in tennis.
  3. To move rapidly, forcefully, or loudly like missiles: The hailstones volleyed down. Charges and countercharges volleyed through the courtroom.

[French volée, from Old French, from voler, to fly, from Latin volāre.]
vol'ley·er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.

Half volley. (a) (Tennis) A return of the ball immediately after is has touched the ground. (b) (Cricket) A sending of the ball so that after touching the ground it flies towards the top of the wicket. --R. A. Proctor.

On the volley, at random. [Obs.] "What we spake on the volley begins work." --Massinger.

Volley gun, a gun with several barrels for firing a number of shots simultaneously; a kind of mitrailleuse.

Volley

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

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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : volley
Spanish: volea,
German: der Flugschlag,
Japanese: ボレー
More Translations »

volley 
1573, "discharge of a number of guns at once," from M.Fr. volee "flight" (12c.), from V.L. *volta, fem. noun from L. volatum, pp. of volare "to fly." Sporting sense (originally in tennis) is from 1819 (v.), 1862 (n.), from notion of hitting the ball in flight. Volleyball is attested from 1896.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: vol·ley
Pronunciation: 'väl-E
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural volleys
: a burst of simultaneous orimmediately sequential nerve impulses passing to an end organ, synapse, or center
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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volley vol·ley (vŏl'ē)
n.
The bursting forth of many things together, such as a synchronous group of impulses induced simultaneously by artificial stimulation of either nerve fibers or muscle fibers.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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