Link Centre Dictionary

volley

vol·ley

UK/ˈvɒli/ US/ˈvɑli/ uncommon
noun (2) verb (5)

noun

1.

rapid simultaneous discharge of firearms

  • “our fusillade from the left flank caught them by surprise”
Synonyms
2.

a tennis return made by hitting the ball before it bounces

Antonyms

verb

1.

be dispersed in a volley

  • “gun shots volleyed at the attackers”
2.

hit before it touches the ground

  • “volley the tennis ball”
3.

discharge in, or as if in, a volley

  • “the attackers volleyed gunshots at the civilians”
4.
5.

utter rapidly

  • “volley a string of curses”

Origin

From Middle French volée (“flight”), from Vulgar Latin volta, from Late Latin volatus.

Phrases

  • drop volley
  • half volley
  • scorpion volley
  • serve and volley

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.