Dray
/dreɪ/
nounB2
Definition
A dray is a type of cart or wagon made to carry heavy things. It often has a flat surface without high sides to hold large or heavy items. Drays are usually pulled by horses or other strong animals, especially before trucks and cars were common.
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See It in Action
A heavy cart or wagon for carrying goods
- •The dray carried barrels of beer from the brewery to the pub.
- •Farmers used a dray to move hay bales across the field.
- •The dray was pulled by two strong horses along the dirt road.
A platform or flat vehicle for heavy transport (less common)
- •The workers loaded the machinery onto the dray for delivery.
- •Old warehouses often had drays waiting to move goods.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "dray" like "cart" (a simple A1 word), but much stronger and bigger, made for very heavy things
- ✓Picture a large wooden flat cart with thick wheels, pulled by strong horses on a farm or in a city long ago
- ✓It's the feeling of hard work and strength, moving heavy loads carefully and slowly
- ✓Sounds like "dray" → imagine dragging something heavy on a flat tray (tray and dray rhyme and both carry things)
- ✓In old stories or movies, drays carry barrels of beer or heavy boxes through town streets
- ✓NOT like "car" (has engine and enclosed space), dray is pulled by animals and open on top
- ✓NOT like "truck" (modern vehicle), dray is old-fashioned and simple in design
- ✓NOT like "trolley" (small and often for people), dray carries large, heavy goods
- ✓NOT like "cart" (small and light), dray is bigger and made for heavy loads
Try Other Words
- •Wagon: a vehicle with four wheels, often pulled by animals (Use when the vehicle has sides or is larger)
- •Cart: a small vehicle for carrying goods (Use when the load is lighter or the vehicle is smaller)
- •Barrow: a small hand-pushed vehicle (Use when the vehicle is pushed by hand, not pulled by animals)
- •Truck: a motor vehicle for carrying heavy goods (Use in modern contexts instead of dray)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: (no prefix or suffix) — simple root word "dray"
- •Etymology: From Old English "dræge" or Middle English "dray," related to "drag," meaning to pull or drag something heavy
- •Historical development: Originally referred to a cart or wagon pulled by animals for heavy loads, common before motor vehicles
- •Modern usage: Now mostly historical or used in specific contexts like breweries or traditional deliveries; sometimes used in place names or company names
Reflect & Connect
•How would life be different today if drays were still the main way to move heavy goods?
•Can you think of modern vehicles that serve the same purpose as a dray? How are they similar or different?
Fill in the blanks
1.The dray carried ___ barrels of beer because they were too heavy for smaller carts.
2.Before trucks, people used a dray pulled by ___ to move goods around town.
3.Unlike a small cart, a dray is designed to carry ___ loads over short distances.
4.When the brewery needed to deliver beer, they loaded the barrels onto the ___.
5.A dray is ___ like a truck but does not have an engine or enclosed space.
6.The horses pulled the dray slowly because the load was ___ and heavy.
7.A dray usually has a flat surface without ___ to hold large items securely.