[vol.ley] n, pl volleys [MF volee flight, fr. voler to fly, fr. L volare] (1573) 1 a: a flight of missiles (as arrows) b: simultaneous discharge of a number of missile weapons c: one round per gun in a battery fired as soon as a gun is ready without regard to order d (1): the flight of the ball (as in volleyball or tennis) or its course before striking the ground; also: a return of the ball before it touches the ground (2): a kick of the ball in soccer before it rebounds (3): the exchange of the shuttlecock in badminton following the serve
2. a: a burst or emission of many things or a large amount at once "received a ~ of angry letters" "a ~ of praise" b: a burst of simultaneous or immediately sequential nerve impulses passing to an end organ, synapse, or center
[2]volley vb vol.leyed ; vol.ley.ing vt (1591) 1: to discharge in or as if in a volley
2: to propel (an object) while in the air and before touching the ground; esp: to hit (a tennis ball) on the volley ~ vi 1: to become discharged in or as if in a volley
2: to make a volley; specif: to volley an object of play (as in tennis) -- vol.ley.er n