ray /reɪ/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Sense 1-5: Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: rai , from Latin radius ; ⇨ ↑ radius ]
[ Sense 6: Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: raie , from Latin raia ]
1 . a straight narrow beam of light from the sun or moon:
The room darkened as a cloud hid the sun’s rays.
ray of
Rays of light filtered through the trees.
2 . a beam of heat, electricity, or other form of energy ⇨ ↑ cosmic ray , ↑ gamma ray , ↑ X-ray 1
3 . a ray of hope/light etc something that provides a small amount of hope or happiness in a difficult situation:
a treatment that offers a ray of hope for cancer sufferers
4 . a ray of sunshine someone who is happy and makes a difficult situation seem better
5 . catch some/a few rays informal to sit or lie in the sun:
Let’s go out and catch a few rays.
6 . a large flat sea fish with a long pointed tail