Definitions for PRAY
preɪpray

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. prayverb

   address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer

   "pray to the Lord"

2. beg, implore, prayverb

   call upon in supplication; entreat

   "I beg you to stop!"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. prayverb

   To petition or solicit help from a supernatural or higher being.

2. prayverb

   To humbly beg a person for aid or their time.

3. prayverb

   to talk to God for any reason.

4. prayadverb

   please; used to make a polite request.

5. Etymology: preien, from preier, (French prier), from precari, from prex, precis, “a prayer, a request”; akin to Sanskrit prach “to ask”, Old English frignan, fricgan, German fragen, Dutch vragen. Confer deprecate, imprecate, precarious.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. To Prayverb

   1. To supplicate; to implore; to address with submissive petitions.

   How much more, if we pray him, will his ear
   Be open, and his heart to pity incline? John Milton.

   2. To ask for as a supplicant.

   He that will have the benefit of this act, must pray a prohibition before a sentence in the ecclesiastical court. John Ayliffe.

   3. To entreat in ceremony or form.

   Pray my collegue Antonius I may speak with him;
   And as you go, call on my brother Quintus,
   And pray him with the tribunes to come to me. Ben Jonson.

2. To Prayverb

   Etymology: prier, Fr. pregare, Italian.

   1. To make petitions to heaven.

   I will buy with you, sell will you; but I will not eat with you, drink with you, nor pray with you. William Shakespeare.

   Pray for this good man and his issue. William Shakespeare.

   Ne’er throughout the year to church thou go’st,
   Except it be to pray against thy foes. William Shakespeare.

   I tell him, we shall stay here at the least a month; and he heartily prays, some occasion may detain us longer. William Shakespeare.

   Is any sick? let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him. Jam. v. 14.

   Unskilful with what words to pray, let me
   Interpret for him. John Milton.

   He that prays, despairs not; but sad is the condition of him that cannot pray; happy are they that can, and do, and love to do it. Jeremy Taylor, Guide to Devotion.

   Thou, Turnus, shalt attone it by thy fate,
   And pray to heav’n for peace, but pray too late. Dryden.

   He prais’d my courage, pray’d for my success;
   He was so true a father of his country,
   To thank me for defending ev’n his foes. Dryden.

   Should you pray to God for a recovery, how rash would it be to accuse God of not hearing your prayers, because you found your disease still to continue. William Wake.

   2. To entreat; to ask submissively.

   You shall find
   A conqu’ror that will pray in aid for kindness,
   Where he for grace is kneel’d to. William Shakespeare.

   Pray that in towns and temples of renown,
   The name of great Anchises may be known. Dryden.

   3. I Pray; that is, I pray you to tell me is a slightly ceremonious form of introducing a question.

   But I pray, in this mechanical formation, when the ferment was expanded to the extremities of the arteries, why did it not break through the receptacle? Richard Bentley, Sermons.

   4. Sometimes only pray elliptically.

   Barnard in spirit, sense and truth abounds;
   Pray then what wants he? fourscore thousand pounds. Alexander Pope.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pray

   Pray is a song by Swiss artist DJ Bobo. It was released in September 1996 as the lead single from his third album, World in Motion. The single features vocals by American singers Lori Glori and Jocelyn Brown, and the choir United Spirits. "Pray" hit success in Europe, reaching number 2 in Finland and Switzerland, number 3 in France and Germany, number 5 in Hungary and number 6 in Austria. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Pray" peaked at number 13 in October 1996.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pray

   Pray generally refers to the act of communing, conversing, or expressing one's thoughts, desires, gratitude, or requests to a higher power or deity. It often involves verbal or mental communication and can be accompanied by specific rituals, gestures, or postures, varying across different religious or spiritual traditions. Praying is usually seen as an act of seeking guidance, solace, strength, or blessings, and it is typically done within a religious or spiritual context.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pray

   see Pry

2. Prayverb

   to make request with earnestness or zeal, as for something desired; to make entreaty or supplication; to offer prayer to a deity or divine being as a religious act; specifically, to address the Supreme Being with adoration, confession, supplication, and thanksgiving

3. Prayverb

   to address earnest request to; to supplicate; to entreat; to implore; to beseech

4. Prayverb

   to ask earnestly for; to seek to obtain by supplication; to entreat for

5. Prayverb

   to effect or accomplish by praying; as, to pray a soul out of purgatory

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pray

   "Pray" is song by boyband Take That. Written by Gary Barlow and released on 5 July 1993, it was the second single from their second album Everything Changes. It is the first of 11 singles by the band to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart, staying at number one for four weeks and starting a streak of four consecutive number one singles. The song has received a Gold sales status certification and sold over 410,000 copies in the UK, won Best British Single and Best British Video at the 1994 Brit Awards, and was the finale of the Beautiful World Tour.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pray

   prā, v.i. to ask earnestly: to entreat: to speak and make known one's desires to God.—v.t. to ask earnestly and reverently, as in worship: to supplicate: to get by praying:—pr.p. prāy′ing; pa.t. and pa.p. prāyed.—ns. Pray′er, the act of praying: entreaty: the words used: solemn giving of thanks and praise to God, and a making known of our requests to Him: a form of prayer used in worship: a petition to a public body; Pray′er-book, a book containing prayers or forms of devotion.—adj. Pray′erful, full of, or given to, prayer: praying much or often: devotional.—adv. Pray′erfully.—n. Pray′erfulness.—adj. Pray′erless, without or not using prayer.—adv. Pray′erlessly.—ns. Pray′erlessness; Pray′er-meet′ing, a shorter and simpler form of public religious service, in which laymen often take part; Pray′er-mong′er, one who prays mechanically; Pray′er-rug, a small carpet on which a Moslem kneels at prayer; Pray′ing, the act of making a prayer: a prayer made.—adj. given to prayer.—ns. Pray′ing-machine′, -mill, -wheel, a revolving apparatus used for prayer in Tibet and elsewhere. [O. Fr. preier (Fr. prier)—L. precāri—prex, precis, a prayer.]

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. PRAY

   What does PRAY stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the PRAY acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. PRAY

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Pray is ranked #8700 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Pray surname appeared 3,773 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Pray.
   
   84.1% or 3,173 total occurrences were White.
   9.1% or 344 total occurrences were Black.
   3.5% or 133 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   2% or 77 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   0.6% or 26 total occurrences were Asian.
   0.5% or 20 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Matched Categories

1. • Commune
   • Plead

British National Corpus

1. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'PRAY' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4570

2. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'PRAY' in Verbs Frequency: #633

How to pronounce PRAY?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say PRAY in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of PRAY in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of PRAY in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of PRAY in a Sentence

1. Joan Abell:

   We’ve been there 99 years and we’ve never had to have a license, where do you all of a sudden say the church has to have a license to gather and pray?

2. Armando Alvarez:

   I wish it was Tony Earls who was found guilty, but I know that the decision is final with the grand jury, i pray that we can find this person and bring him to justice, because Arlene didn't want to die. She didn't want to die on a Monday night, on her way to dinner.

3. Brad Wenstrup:

   I hope and pray that that interpreter, we find a way to get them out, my experience is if we get them here, they do everything right to become good U.S. citizens.

4. unknown:

   You will not find the warrior, the poet, the philosopher or the Christian by staring into his eyes as if he were your mistress: better fight beside him, read with him, argue with him, pray with him.

5. Jaden McDaniels:

   It’s a waiting game. ... I pray every time mine comes back clear.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=PRAY
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Pray
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=PRAY
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pray
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/PRAY
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=PRAY
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=PRAY
9. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
   https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html