What does bray mean?
Bray is both a verb and a noun referring to the loud, harsh, grating cry made by a donkey. The word works as vivid onomatopoeia — its blunt single syllable echoes the abrasive sound it names. By extension, English speakers use 'bray' figuratively to describe a person who laughs or talks in a similarly loud, discordant way: someone might be said to 'bray with laughter' or to 'bray out' an announcement across a room. In these uses the word is unflattering, implying coarseness or an irritating lack of restraint, and it appears most often in descriptive or mildly satirical prose. As a noun, 'the bray of a donkey' is a fixed enough image to appear readily in literature. Though humble in origin, 'bray' earns its place in a writer's vocabulary precisely because no gentler synonym captures that particular rasping, far-carrying quality of sound.
(Of a donkey) to utter its characteristic loud, harsh cry; (of a person) to make a loud, harsh, unpleasant sound when laughing or speaking.
"The mule brayed insistently until it was fed."
The loud, harsh cry of a donkey, or a similar harsh sound made by a person.
"His laugh was less a chuckle than a full-throated bray."
Standard plural for the noun form.
"We heard distant brays echoing across the valley."
The word bray imitates the very noise it names — a rare case of English onomatopoeia so accurate you can almost hear the donkey in the spelling.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bray
Bray comes from Old French 'braire', meaning to cry out, ultimately of imitative origin echoing the donkey's call. It entered Middle English around the thirteenth century and has retained both its literal sense (the donkey's cry) and its figurative application to harsh human laughter and speech. It is related to French dialect words for animal cries rather than to Latin roots, making it one of English's onomatopoeic borrowings.
Related word forms
How bray is actually used
When applied to people, 'bray' carries a strongly negative connotation — it suggests a loud, grating, often self-satisfied manner of laughing or talking. It is more common in British informal writing than in American usage.
Easily confused with bray
'Pray' means to address God or earnestly hope for something, while 'bray' refers to a donkey's harsh cry or a loud, unpleasant human laugh or voice.