dray
/dɹeɪ/
"dray" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dray” is an uncommon English word, ranked #56,714 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #56,714
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of various forms of low horse-drawn cart or wagon, often without sides or with removable sides, and used especially for heavy loads.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dray |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /dɹeɪ/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #56,714 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dray” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for dray is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɹeɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #56,714 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
dray has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English draye, dreye, from Old English dræġe (“dragnet”), from Proto-Germanic *dragǭ. Cognate with Middle Low German drāge (“stretcher; dray”), Middle High German trage (“a litter”). Related to Old English dragan (“to pull; draw”). More at draw. The correct English form is dray, spelled D-R-A-Y.
Definition
- 1Any of various forms of low horse-drawn cart or wagon, often without sides or with removable sides, and used especially for heavy loads.
- 2A kind of sledge or sled.
Etymology
From Middle English draye, dreye, from Old English dræġe (“dragnet”), from Proto-Germanic *dragǭ. Cognate with Middle Low German drāge (“stretcher; dray”), Middle High German trage (“a litter”). Related to Old English dragan (“to pull; draw”). More at draw.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "dray"?
What does "dray" mean?
How do you pronounce "dray"?
What is the origin of the word "dray"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “dray”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-R-A-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dɹeɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.