dray

IPA/dreɪ/
KK[drˈe]IPA/dreɪ/

dray — noun

  • draysingular
  • draysplural

1. a flat horse cart from earlier times that carried barrels, sacks, and other heav

1.nounC2
Definition

a flat horse cart from earlier times that carried barrels, sacks, and other heavy loads

Example

At dawn, Tendai loaded flour sacks onto the dray behind the mill.

load + goods onto a dray

The old dray carried beer barrels from the yard to the inn.

dray for heavy barrels

Common collocations
  • load sacks onto a dray
  • pull a dray through town
  • beer barrels on a dray
  • horse-drawn dray
Synonyms
  • cart

    broader everyday word for a vehicle that carries goods

  • wagon

    often suggests a larger vehicle, often with higher sides

  • flatbed

    modern truck or trailer term, not a historical horse vehicle

Grammar Patterns

load + [goods] onto + a dray

pull + a dray + through/to + [place]

use + a dray + to carry + [load]

Usage Note

Mostly found in historical writing, museum labels, or accounts of older delivery work. It usually refers to a low horse-drawn vehicle used for heavy freight rather than an ordinary small cart.

Common Mistakes

The horses were the dray.
The horses pulled the dray.
a dray is the cart itself, not the animals.

dray — verb

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words can refer to something that carries goods, but they point to different kinds of vehicles. A 'dray' is a specific old heavy horse cart used for freight. A 'cart' is the broad everyday word and may be much smaller. A 'wagon' often sounds larger and often has sides. A 'flatbed' is a modern truck or trailer with an open level platform, so it does not suggest the same historical horse-drawn picture as 'dray'.

dray ↗cart ↗wagon ↗flatbed ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Verbs

Phrases

  • load sacks onto a dray
  • pull a dray through town
  • dray barrels to an inn
  • horse-drawn dray