volley

1 rapid simultaneous discharge of firearms; "our fusillade from the left flank caught them by surprise" [syn: fusillade, salvo, burst]

2 a tennis return made by hitting the ball before it bounces [ant: ground stroke]

1 be dispersed in a volley; "gun shots volleyed at the attackers"

2 hit before it touches the ground; "volley the tennis ball"

3 discharge in, or as if in, a volley; "the attackers volleyed gunshots at the civilians"

4 make a volley

5 utter rapidly; "volley a string of curses"

English

Noun

1. The simultaneous firing of a number of missiles; the missiles so fired
2. The flight of a ball just before it bounces
3. A shot, especially in tennis, in which the ball is played before it hits the ground

Translations

Verb

1. To fire a volley of shots
2. In the context of "sport|transitive": To hit the ball before it touches the ground
3. To be fired in a volley
4. In the context of "sport|intransitive": To make a volley

Derived terms

• half volley
• volleyball

• In military parlance a volley is a simultaneous discharge of weapons, such as a volley of musket fire, or a broadside from a warship.
  • See Volley gun.
• In a number of ball games a volley is a ball that is received and delivered without touching the ground.
  • Volleyball.
  • Volley (tennis).
  • Volley (football).
• It is also a slang/jocular/derogatory term for members of a Volunteer fire department.

antiaircraft barrage, arrow, arrowhead, badinage, bang, bantering, barb, bark, barrage, blast, bobtailed arrow, bolt, bombardment, bowshot, box barrage, broadside, bullet, burst, cannon, cannonade, cannonry, chested arrow, cloth yard shaft, crack, creeping barrage, crossfire, dart, deluge, detonation, discharge, drumfire, ejection, emergency barrage, enfilade, exchange, explosion, flight, flood, fulmination, fusillade, give and take, gun, gunfire, gunshot, hail, interaction, inundation, mortar barrage, normal barrage, outbreak, outpouring, pop, potshot, quarrel, reciprocity, reed, salvo, shaft, shot, shower, spray, standing barrage, stoneshot, storm, tattoo, to-and-fro, torrent, volleying