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PlainSpell

volley

/ˈvɑli/noun, verb

volley is spelled V-O-L-L-E-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, volley means “The simultaneous firing of a number of missiles or bullets; the projectiles so fired” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of volley is volleys.

How many letters and syllables are in volley?

Letters6: V-O-L-L-E-Y
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing1.7 times per million words; the 21,209th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is volley?

Volley appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce volley?

  • UK /ˈvɒli/
  • US /ˈvɑli/

Volley has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-volley.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with volley?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as volley from its last stressed vowel (/ɑli/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: lovely.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of volley

  • volleys plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • volleying participle, present
  • volleyed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does volley mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The simultaneous firing of a number of missiles or bullets; the projectiles so fired.

  2. 2

    A burst or emission of many things at once.

    a volley of words

  3. 3

    The flight of a ball just before it bounces.

  4. 4

    A shot in which the ball is played before it hits the ground.

  5. 5

    A sending of the ball full to the top of the wicket.

verb

  1. 1

    To fire a volley of shots.

  2. 2

    To hit the ball before it touches the ground.

  3. 3

    To be fired in a volley.

  4. 4

    To make a volley.

  5. 5

    To sound together.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Volley in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchvolée, salve (simultaneous fire)
GermanSalve (simultaneous fire), Volley (flight of a ball before it bounces), Flugball (shot in which the ball is played before it hits…)
Portuguesesalva, saraivada (simultaneous fire), voleio, vólei (flight of a ball before it bounces)
Spanishsalva (simultaneous fire), volea, voleo (shot in which the ball is played before it hits…), volear (to hit the ball before it touches the ground)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does volley come from?

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

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after volley