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Glite Dictionary
🫏 A donkey sound 🫏 To make donkey sound 😂 To laugh loudly 🪨 To crush
to bray

to bray

9.1
To crush seeds or plants into small pieces with a heavy bowl and stick
  • verb
  • /breɪ/
translation icon : machacar
  • He learned to bray the spices well, ensuring each one contributed its full flavor to the dish.

Examples

  • The clay birds bray in the simulated trees, a mechanical mishap.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • "Yah huh," he brayed, finishing his last beer and crushing the can with a single squeeze.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Using a mortar and pestle, she began to bray the herbs into a fine powder for the recipe.

  • To prepare the medicine, the pharmacist had to bray the ingredients carefully until they were completely crushed.

Synonyms

to grind
vsto bray
61 2.4

To crush something into powder by rubbing or pressing

is performed specifically by crushing inside a mortar with a handheld tool
to powder
vsto bray
39 3.0

To crush or grind something until it becomes a fine dry material

also involves crushing often performed in a mortar with a handheld tool
to pulverize
vsto bray
  • US
8 7.4

To crush something into a fine powder

also crushes but covers small pieces as well as powder, often using a mortar
to crunch
vsto bray
4 3.0

To crush something into small pieces

is about crushing into powder often by careful grinding rather than forceful hits
to comminute
vsto bray
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Change something into very small pieces by pounding, crushing, or grinding

focuses more on producing powder or very fine particles, often using a mortar
to pestle
vsto bray
1 7.7

To crush or grind something in a bowl using a heavy hand tool

focuses on producing small pieces or powder rather than the tool used

Antonyms

to assemble
169 2.9

To put parts together to make something like a machine or toy

How Fine

to pulverize
  • US
8 7.4
to bray
9.1
to grind
61 2.4
to crush
401 1.6

Surface Forms

bray infinitive
brayed past
brayed past participle
braying present participle
brays third person singular

Etymology

Bray meaning 'to crush or grind' comes from the Old French broyer meaning 'to crush', so to bray herbs or roots is to grind them into small pieces.