ray

/ɹeɪ/

//ɹeɪ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"ray" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ray” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #2,087) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#2,087
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A beam of light or radiation.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ray · ray · English

ray · rank #2,087 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,087
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH PM

Nearest frequency peer: PM (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “ray”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “ray” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ray vs re
33% similar
ray vs RS
0% similar
ray vs rd
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ray
PropertyValue
Headwordray
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹeɪ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#2,087
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ray” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).ray lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for ray is neighbouring look-alikes ("re", "RS", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ɹeɪ/. Frequency #2,087 among 3,094 “R” headwords. 6 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No generated misspelling entries exist for ray in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "re", "RS", "rd", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Via Middle English, borrowed from Old French rai, from Latin radius (“staff, stake, spoke”). Doublet of radius. The correct English form is ray, spelled R-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A beam of light or radiation.
  2. 2
    A rib-like reinforcement of bone or cartilage in a fish's fin.
  3. 3
    One of the spheromeres of a radiate, especially one of the arms of a starfish or an ophiuran.
  4. 4
    A radiating part of a flower or plant; the marginal florets of a compound flower, such as an aster or a sunflower; one of the pedicels of an umbel or other circular flower cluster; radius.
  5. 5
    Sight; perception; vision; from an old theory of vision, that sight was something which proceeded from the eye to the object seen.
  6. 6
    A line extending indefinitely in one direction from a point.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ray appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I saw a ray of light through the clouds.
  2. Strangely light and delicate was his frame and seeming, yet with a sense of slumbering power beneath, as the delicate peak of a snow mountain seen afar in the low red rays of morning.

Etymology

Via Middle English, borrowed from Old French rai, from Latin radius (“staff, stake, spoke”). Doublet of radius.

This word in other languages

rayo(Español)rayon(Français)Strahl(Deutsch)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ray"?
"ray" is spelled R-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹeɪ/.
What does "ray" mean?
As a noun, "ray" means: A beam of light or radiation.
What words are commonly confused with "ray"?
"ray" is commonly confused with "re", "RS", "rd". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ray"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ray" is /ɹeɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "ray"?
Via Middle English, borrowed from Old French rai, from Latin radius (“staff, stake, spoke”). Doublet of radius. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ray", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ben#2,063era#2,153mix#2,003fox#2,204

What to do next

You've looked up "ray". Here's where to go from here.

  • "ray" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "re". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #2,087 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "R" letter cohort. R–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list