volley
noun
vol·ley
| \ ˈvä-lē
\
\
plural volleys
Definition of volley
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a(1)
: the flight of the ball (as in volleyball or tennis) or its course before striking the ground
also
: a return of the ball before it touches the ground
(2)
: a kick of the ball in soccer before it rebounds
(3)
: the exchange of the shuttlecock in badminton following the serve
b
: a flight of missiles (such as arrows)
c
: simultaneous discharge of a number of missile weapons
d
: one round per gun in a battery fired as soon as a gun is ready without regard to order
2a
: a burst or emission of many things or a large amount at once
received a volley of angry letters
b
: a burst of simultaneous or immediately sequential nerve impulses passing to an end organ, synapse, or center
volley
verb
volleyed;
volleying
Definition of volley (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: to propel (an object) while in the air and before touching the ground
especially
: to hit (a tennis ball) on the volley
2
: to discharge in or as if in a volley
1
: to make a volley
specifically
: to volley an object of play (as in tennis)
2
: to become discharged in or as if in a volley
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Synonyms for volley
Synonyms: Noun
barrage, blitz, blitzkrieg, bombardment, cannonade, drumbeat, drumfire, flurry, fusillade, hail, salvo, shower, storm
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Examples of volley in a Sentence
Noun
The tank was hit by a volley of bullets. She was overwhelmed by a volley of questions from the press.Verb
She volleyed the shot over the net.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The city and Tesser parted ways following a volley of accusations between her and City Administrator Joe Lynch. — Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, "Former Inver Grove Heights clerk gets $89K from separation agreement," 7 Aug. 2019 The biggest fear is that Iran could trigger a larger conflict if one of its proxies in Iraq or Syria fired a volley of mortars or rockets at an American base and killed U.S. personnel. — Author: Missy Ryan, Greg Jaffe, John Hudson, Anchorage Daily News, "Pompeo warns Iran about trigger for US military action as some in administration question aggressive policy," 19 June 2019 And that set off a volley of tweets and accusations between the president and the mayor of the nation's capital. — Fox News, "Trump military parade plans unravel over costs," 18 Aug. 2018 That included a volley of insults hurled both directions. — Susan Page And Merdie Nzanga, USA TODAY, "Poll: On Trump, we can't even agree on why we disagree. But we assume the worst," 21 June 2018 Militants early Wednesday fired a volley of rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip, puncturing a tacit three-week cease-fire, in the latest flare-up in tensions between the two sides. — Felicia Schwartz, WSJ, "Gaza Strip Militants Fire Rockets Into Israel," 20 June 2018 Whenever police phalanxes ready fresh volleys of tear gas, Kwong puts himself in front of the protesters, trying to buy time for a retreat. — Time, "'Whenever There’s Trouble He Rushes There.' Meet Legislator Roy Kwong, the God of Hong Kong Protests," 20 July 2019 Trump unleased a volley of Twitter messages Thursday leading up to the conference. — Marcy Gordon, chicagotribune.com, "Trump complains of social media bias, then praises far-right conservatives for using the platforms well," 11 July 2019 Roger's volley of food begins with simple oysters; scallop crudo with crispy Iberico ham; baby heirloom tomato and tomato gelee; asparagus tempura with Romesco sauce; and steak tartare wrapped in an edible front page of the Houston Chronicle. — Greg Morago, Houston Chronicle, "MAD: A sensory ambush arrives at River Oaks District," 19 June 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
And Townsend serve-and-volleyed 61 times, Halep once. — Howard Fendrich, BostonGlobe.com, "Taylor Townsend upsets Simona Halep at US Open," 29 Aug. 2019 The last of those was on a curveball Buster Posey saved from bouncing by reaching down to volley it into left field at the start of the seventh inning. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Paddack bounces back, Padres beat Giants," 29 Aug. 2019 The currency-manipulation designation is one of the most unwarranted charges volleyed against China by the Trump administration. — David Beckworth, National Review, "Why the U.S. Dollar Will Remain Strong," 22 Aug. 2019 Then, nearly a minute into added time, Bou volleyed a shot with the outside of his right foot from the penalty arc off Gil’s corner, Sibiga confirming the goal after a VAR replay. — Frank Dell’apa, BostonGlobe.com, "Gustavo Bou has spectacular debut in leading Revolution to shutout of Vancouver," 18 July 2019 To head it to himself twice, to then volley to himself over his defender and to then come up with an unstoppable finish: what a goal. — Avi Creditor, SI.com, "The MLS XI, Week 19: Drama, Rivalries and Controversy," 15 July 2019 The striker volleyed a corner to keep the home side in the match. — Jake Shapiro, The Denver Post, "The Colorado Rapids were delayed 222 minutes: 5 things we learned from a wet loss to New England," 5 July 2019 The family volleys weekly from one trend to another: Monogrammed this, Yeezy that. — Liana Satenstein, Vogue, "Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner are Wearing Tom Ford’s Gucci—As They Should," 23 Aug. 2018 But Louisville City leveled just six minutes later as Ownby pivoted and chipped a pass across the box to Oscar Jimenez, who volleyed it in at the near post. — Danielle Lerner, The Courier-Journal, "LouCity FC stuns New England Revolution in U.S. Open Cup," 5 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'volley.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for volley
volley
noun
English Language Learners Definition of volley
(Entry 1 of 2)
sports
: a shot or kick made by hitting a ball before it touches the ground
: a large number of bullets, arrows, stones, etc., that are shot or thrown at the same time
: a lot of comments, questions, etc., that are directed at a person very quickly
volley
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of volley (Entry 2 of 2)
sports
: to hit (a ball) while it is in the air and before it touches the ground