# tray

> English word · Noun · IPA /tɹeɪ/ · frequency rank #10,467

## Definitions
1. A small, typically rectangular or round, flat, and rigid object upon which things are carried.
2. The items on a full tray.
3. A component of a device into which an item is placed for use in the device's operations.
4. A notification area used for icons and alerts.
5. A type of retail or wholesale packaging for CPUs where the processors are sold in bulk and/or with minimal packaging.
6. The platform of a truck that supports the load to be hauled.

## Etymology
From Middle English trey, from Old English trēġ, trīġ (“wooden board, tray”), from Proto-West Germanic *trauwi, from Proto-Germanic *trawją (“wooden vessel”), from Proto-Indo-European *drewo-, *dóru (“tree; wood”). Cognate with Old Norse treyja (“carrier”), Old Swedish trø (“wooden grain measure”), Low German Treechel (“dough trough”), Ancient Greek δροίτη (droítē, “tub, vat”), Sanskrit द्रोण (droṇa, “trough”). Related to trough and tree.

## Easily confused with
- **Ty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-ty)
- **try** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-try)
- **tri** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-tri)
- **TSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-tsa)
- **tre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-tre)
- **tru** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-tru)
- **TRP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-trp)
- **TWA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-twa)
- **true** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-true)
- **trip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-trip)
- **tree** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-tree)
- **trek** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-trek)
- **Troy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-troy)
- **trio** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-trio)
- **trim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-trim)
- **Trey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-trey)
- **twat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-twat)
- **trot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-trot)
- **tsar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-tsar)
- **tres** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tray-vs-tres)

## Common misspellings (6)
`rtay`, `tary`, `trayy`, `trray`, `trya`, `ttray`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tray