array

1 of 2

verb

ar·​ray ə-ˈrā 

arrayed; arraying; arrays

transitive verb

1

: to dress or decorate especially in splendid or impressive attire : adorn

… he had already arrayed himself in his best clothes.

—Thomas Hardy

2

a

: to set or place in order : draw up, marshal

the forces arrayed against us

b

: to set or set forth in order (something, such as a jury) for the trial of a cause

3

: to arrange or display in or as if in an array

The … data are arrayed in descending order.

—Ed Burnett

arrayer noun

array

2 of 2

noun

1

: an imposing group : large number

faced a whole array of problems

also : variety, assortment

a broad array of styles

2

a

: a regular and imposing grouping or arrangement : order

lined up … in soldierly array

—Donald Barthelme

b

law : an orderly listing of jurors impaneled

3

a

: clothing, attire

b

: rich or beautiful apparel : finery

4

: a body of soldiers : militia

the baron and his feudal array

5

a(1)

: a number of mathematical elements arranged in rows and columns

(2)

: a data structure in which similar elements of data are arranged in a table

b

: a series of statistical data arranged in classes in order of magnitude

6

: a group of elements forming a complete unit

an antenna array

Synonyms

Verb

• adorn
• beautify
• bedeck
• bedizen
• blazon
• caparison
• deck
• decorate
• do
• do up
• doll up
• drape
• dress
• embellish
• emblaze
• emboss
• enrich
• fancify
• fancy up
• festoon
• garnish
• glitz (up)
• grace
• gussy up
• ornament
• pretty (up)
• trim

Noun

• assemblage
• band
• bank
• batch
• battery
• block
• bunch
• clot
• clump
• cluster
• clutch
• collection
• constellation
• group
• grouping
• huddle
• knot
• lot
• muster
• package
• parcel
• passel
• set
• suite

Examples of array in a Sentence

Verb

She arrayed herself in rich velvets and satins.

a door arrayed for the holidays with a beautiful evergreen wreath

Noun

an array of solar panels

an array of baseball gloves in the corner of his room

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Sitting at her workspace with 20 containers of minuscule glass beads arrayed before her, Rachel Ellenbogen spends two days hand-beading each of her clutches. —Sakeina Syed, Vogue, 10 Nov. 2023

Both artists are abstractionists who array mostly bright hues in geometric arrays. —Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024

Sheffield United is not alone in having bought into the idea that the authorities are, for whatever reason, arrayed against it. —Rory Smith, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024

Modest numbers of atoms separated by mountains of light spread out at a glacial pace, both when arranged in 1D lines and when arrayed in 2D grids. —Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024

David Hammons’s tarp paintings, John Chamberlain’s car sculptures, and pictures of his own iPhone, its screen cracked into a million tiny pieces, are arrayed in orderly rows. —Nicole Phelps, Vogue, 2 Mar. 2024

The products arrayed in the president’s video, like Oreos and Wheat Thins, were all examples of the shrinkflation that Mr. Dworsky had documented on his Consumer World website. —Jim Tankersley, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024

The space currently functions as a warehouse, but Mr. Sweets dreams of turning it into an artists’ bazaar, perhaps with taxidermy mounts arrayed throughout: the elephant here, the giraffe and hippo there. —Katrina Miller, New York Times, 23 Sep. 2023

Each evening before the drive day, all 10 vehicles were arrayed on the lawns of Carneros Resort and Spa in Napa, Calif., and the Boca Raton resort in Florida, respectively, for a late-afternoon welcome reception made all the more welcome by cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. —Robert Ross, Robb Report, 13 Feb. 2024

Noun

Rolling papers, pre-rolled cones, lighters, bongs, vapes and an array of other paraphernalia constitute the indispensable toolkit for cannabis consumers. —Harrison Bard, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2024

In any event, persuading the crown prince to enter a normalization deal would require Washington to offer a binding security guarantee, which presumably would be conditioned on an array of concessions by Riyadh that MBS seems unlikely to make. —Steven Simon, Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2024

As waves of water washed across an array of nanoscale silicone pyramids, the apparatus generated a very small current. —IEEE Spectrum, 9 Apr. 2024

The movement is part of a wave of student organizing at U.S. colleges and universities centering around everything from the affordability of higher education and representation to who has access to a diverse array of course offerings and workplace safety concerns. —Leah Willingham, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Apr. 2024

The countries and firms that develop quantum computing stand to gain a significant advantage in an array of lucrative industries, some experts told ABC News. —Max Zahn, ABC News, 5 Apr. 2024

Add another Bay Area favorite to the array of new Oracle Park food options for San Francisco Giants fans this season. —Linda Zavoral, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024

The awards, which honor fan-favorite genres in film and television, saw a diverse array of movies and TV shows garnering accolades from international critics and journalists. —Clayton Davis, Variety, 4 Apr. 2024

Professional athletes hailing from football, basketball, and an array of other sports cite CBD as a part of their regular routine, especially topicals. —Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 3 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English arayen, arrayen "to put in order, prepare, marshal (troops), equip, adorn," borrowed from Anglo-French arraier, arreyer, aroier "to arrange, order, marshal, set in order (a jury, assize), equip, attire, adorn" (continental Old French areer), going back to Vulgar Latin *arrēdāre, from Latin ad- ad- + Vulgar Latin *-rēdāre, in *conrēdāre, presumed adaptation of Gothic garedan "to make provision for" — more at curry entry 1

Note: The forms arrai-, aroi- presumably represent generalizations of the tonic stem of areer. The verb *arrēdāre is common to most Romance languages: Old Occitan arezar "to put in order," Catalan arrear "to provide," Spanish, "to adorn, decorate," Italian arredare "to furnish, equip."

Noun

Middle English aray, array, arraye "preparation, arrangement, condition, line of soldiers, equipment, adornment," borrowed from Anglo-French arrai, arraie "order, arrangement, condition, ordered list of jurors, body of men, entourage, equipment," noun derivative of arraier "to order, array entry 1"

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Kids Definition

array

1 of 2 verb

ar·​ray ə-ˈrā 

1

: to set in order : draw up

soldiers arrayed for review

2

: to dress especially in fine clothing : adorn

arrayer noun

array

2 of 2 noun

1

: regular order or arrangement

also : persons (as troops) in array

2

: rich or beautiful clothing

3

: an impressive group : large number

a whole array of problems

also : variety sense 2, assortment

4

: a group of mathematical elements (as numbers or letters) arranged in rows and columns

Legal Definition

array

1 of 2 transitive verb

ar·​ray ə-ˈrā 

: to set (a jury) for trial

specifically : to set (a jury) by calling out the names of the jurors one at a time compare impanel

array

2 of 2 noun

: the group of people summoned to serve as jurors from which the jury will be chosen

also : a list of the jurors' names see also challenge to the array at challenge compare venire