Library / English Dictionary

VOLLEY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A tennis return made by hitting the ball before it bounces

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

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

return (a tennis stroke that sends the ball back to the other player)

Antonym:

ground stroke (a tennis return made by hitting the ball after it has bounced once)

Derivation:

volley (make a volley)

volley (hit before it touches the ground)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Rapid simultaneous discharge of firearms

Example:

our fusillade from the left flank caught them by surprise

Synonyms:

burst; fusillade; salvo; volley

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

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

fire; firing (the act of firing weapons or artillery at an enemy)

Derivation:

volley (discharge in, or as if in, a volley)

volley (be dispersed in a volley)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Utter rapidly

Example:

volley a string of curses

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

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

emit; let loose; let out; utter (express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make a volley

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

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

play (participate in games or sport)

Domain category:

court game (an athletic game played on a court)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

volley (a tennis return made by hitting the ball before it bounces)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Discharge in, or as if in, a volley

Example:

the attackers volleyed gunshots at the civilians

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

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

discharge (pour forth or release)

Verb group:

volley (be dispersed in a volley)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

volley (rapid simultaneous discharge of firearms)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Hit before it touches the ground

Example:

volley the tennis ball

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

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

hit (cause to move by striking)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

volley (a tennis return made by hitting the ball before it bounces)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Be dispersed in a volley

Example:

gun shots volleyed at the attackers

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

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

disperse; dissipate; scatter; spread out (move away from each other)

Verb group:

volley (discharge in, or as if in, a volley)

Sentence frames:

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

Derivation:

volley (rapid simultaneous discharge of firearms)

Credits

 Context examples: 

I believe the readiness of our return volley had scattered the mutineers once more, for we were suffered without further molestation to get the poor old gamekeeper hoisted over the stockade and carried, groaning and bleeding, into the log-house.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

It was dark here in front: only the bright door sent ten square feet of light volleying out into the soft black morning.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)