Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A simultaneous discharge of a number of bullets or other projectiles.
  • noun The bullets or projectiles so discharged.
  • noun A group of remarks, expressions, or actions directed toward a certain recipient or audience.
  • noun An exchange of strokes in a court game, such as volleyball, ending when one side fails to make a good return and resulting in a point or the loss of service.
  • noun A stroke, kick, or other strike of the ball made before the ball touches the ground.
  • noun The flight of a ball before it touches the ground.
  • intransitive verb To discharge (projectiles) in a volley.
  • intransitive verb Sports To strike (a tennis ball, for example) before it touches the ground.
  • intransitive verb To direct or send in a mass or series.
  • intransitive verb To be discharged in a volley.
  • intransitive verb Sports To make a volley, especially in tennis.
  • intransitive verb To move or be directed rapidly, forcefully, or loudly in a mass or series.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In cricket, of the bowler: To bowl a ball which reaches the batsman before pitching.
  • To bowl a full-pitch.
  • noun In cricket: A full-pitch.
  • noun A ball so bowled as to reach the batsman without touching the ground.
  • noun In mining, the ignition and explosion of several blasts in the rock at one time, or of groups of such blasts in sections.
  • noun The flight of a number of missile weapons together; hence, the discharge simultaneously, or nearly so, of a number of missile weapons.
  • noun Hence, a noisy or explosive burst or emission of many things at once.
  • noun In lawn-tennis and tennis, a return of the ball by the racket before it touches the ground, especially a swift, return.
  • To discharge in a volley, or as if in a volley: often with out. Compare volleyed.
  • In lawn-tennis and tennis, to return on the fly: said of the ball: drive (the ball) with the racket before it strikes the ground.
  • To fly together, as missiles; hence, to issue or be discharged in large number or quantity.
  • To sound together, or in continuous or repeated explosions, as firearms.
  • In lawn-tennis and tennis, to return the ball before it touches the ground, especially by a swift stroke: as, he volleys well.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To discharge with, or as with, a volley.
  • intransitive verb To be thrown out, or discharged, at once; to be discharged in a volley, or as if in a volley; to make a volley or volleys.
  • intransitive verb (Tennis) To return the ball before it touches the ground.
  • intransitive verb To send the ball full to the top of the wicket.
  • noun A flight of missiles, as arrows, bullets, or the like; the simultaneous discharge of a number of small arms.
  • noun A burst or emission of many things at once.
  • noun (Tennis) A return of the ball before it touches the ground.
  • noun (Cricket) A sending of the ball full to the top of the wicket.
  • noun (Tennis), (Cricket) A sending of the ball so that after touching the ground it flies towards the top of the wicket.
  • noun [Obs.] at random.
  • noun a gun with several barrels for firing a number of shots simultaneously; a kind of mitrailleuse.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The simultaneous firing of a number of missiles or bullets; the projectiles so fired
  • noun sports The flight of a ball just before it bounces
  • noun sports A shot in which the ball is played before it hits the ground
  • verb transitive To fire a volley of shots
  • verb sports, transitive To hit the ball before it touches the ground
  • verb intransitive To be fired in a volley
  • verb sports, intransitive To make a volley

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb utter rapidly
  • verb discharge in, or as if in, a volley

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French volée, from Old French, from voler, to fly, from Latin volāre.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French volee ("flight"), from Vulgar Latin volta, from Late Latin volatus.

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Examples

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  • My favourite shoe. I knew that if I waited long enough they'd be back in fashion.

    January 27, 2008

  • "VOLLEY, the discharge of a great number of fire-arms at the same time." (citation in list description)

    October 9, 2008

  • I have seen people using this word to mean "write back" at the end of emails.

    Volley!

    October 16, 2008

  • Cute. I've never seen that. Very occasionally I've seen/used RSVP at the end of a message. Usually only in more formal situations where a reply is required.

    October 16, 2008