Library / English Dictionary

SPRAY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A dispenser that turns a liquid (such as perfume) into a fine mist

Synonyms:

atomiser; atomizer; nebuliser; nebulizer; spray; sprayer

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("spray" is a kind of...):

dispenser (a container so designed that the contents can be used in prescribed amounts)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "spray"):

airbrush (an atomizer to spray paint by means of compressed air)

Derivation:

spray (scatter in a mass or jet of droplets)

spray (be discharged in sprays of liquid)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Flower arrangement consisting of a single branch or shoot bearing flowers and foliage

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("spray" is a kind of...):

floral arrangement; flower arrangement (a decorative arrangement of flowers)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A jet of vapor

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("spray" is a kind of...):

jet; spirt; spurt; squirt (the occurrence of a sudden discharge (as of liquid))

Sense 4

Meaning:

A quantity of small objects flying through the air

Example:

a spray of bullets

Synonyms:

spray; spraying

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Hypernyms ("spray" is a kind of...):

small indefinite amount; small indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A pesticide in suspension or solution; intended for spraying

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("spray" is a kind of...):

pesticide (a chemical used to kill pests (as rodents or insects))

Sense 6

Meaning:

Water in small drops in the atmosphere; blown from waves or thrown up by a waterfall

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("spray" is a kind of...):

water vapor; water vapour (water in a vaporous form diffused in the atmosphere but below boiling temperature)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "spray"):

sea spray (spray from ocean waves)

spindrift; spoondrift (spray blown up from the surface of the sea)

Derivation:

spray (scatter in a mass or jet of droplets)

spray (be discharged in sprays of liquid)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Scatter in a mass or jet of droplets

Example:

spray paint on the wall

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "spray" is one way to...):

disperse; dot; dust; scatter; sprinkle (distribute loosely)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "spray"):

shower (spray or sprinkle with)

atomise; atomize (spray very finely)

mist (spray finely or cover with mist)

syringe (spray or irrigate (a body part) with a syringe)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

spray (a dispenser that turns a liquid (such as perfume) into a fine mist)

spray (water in small drops in the atmosphere; blown from waves or thrown up by a waterfall)

sprayer (a dispenser that turns a liquid (such as perfume) into a fine mist)

spraying (a quantity of small objects flying through the air)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cover by spraying with a liquid

Example:

spray the wall with paint

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "spray" is one way to...):

cover (provide with a covering or cause to be covered)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

They spray the bread with melted butter

Derivation:

sprayer (a worker who applies spray to a surface)

spraying (the application of a liquid in the form of small particles ejected from a sprayer)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Be discharged in sprays of liquid

Example:

Water sprayed all over the floor

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "spray" is one way to...):

disperse; dot; dust; scatter; sprinkle (distribute loosely)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

spray (a dispenser that turns a liquid (such as perfume) into a fine mist)

spray (water in small drops in the atmosphere; blown from waves or thrown up by a waterfall)

Credits

 Context examples: 

A spray intended for administration into the mouth.

(Oral Spray Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus)

Twice a week for six weeks, the volunteers sprayed a solution of sugar water containing increasing doses of live R. mucosa onto their inner elbows and one additional skin area of their choice.

(Bacteria therapy for eczema shows promise in NIH study, National Institutes of Health)

Taking medicines and using nasal sprays can relieve symptoms.

(Hay Fever, NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

A method that suspends a substrate in a fluidized bed while it is sprayed with a layer of coating material.

(Fluidized Bed Coating Method, NCI Thesaurus)

Upon spraying directly onto the gastric mucosa, L-menthol preparation NPO-11 may relax gastrointestinal smooth muscle.

(L-menthol Preparation NPO-11, NCI Thesaurus)

It is found in gasoline, lighter fluid, and some aerosol sprays.

(Butane, NCI Dictionary)

Cassini found that Enceladus sprays towering, geyser-like jets of water vapor and icy particles, including simple organics, from warm fractures near its south pole.

(Powering Saturn's Active Ocean Moon, NASA)

The vast majority of the sampled grains originate from active jets that spray from the surface of Saturn's geologically active moon Enceladus.

(Saturn Spacecraft Samples Interstellar Dust, NASA)

Orchard caretakers told the team that different nutrients and fertilizers were sprayed on the trees before flowering.

(Lychee deaths linked to pesticides, not the fruit, SciDev.Net)

According to the report, the two-spray process is complete in under five minutes and lasts for roughly 500 flushes before requiring reapplication.

(Materials scientists invent new coating for self-cleaning, water-efficient toilets, Wikinews)