dray

Everyday

1. A low, strong cart without sides, pulled by horses, used to carry heavy loads like barrels of beer. tree →
2. (Australia, old) Any cart or wagon for carrying goods. tree →

In the lessons

In history and classic stories, drays and dray horses carried barrels from breweries through city streets; today some breweries still keep dray horses for shows; phrases: «a dray horse», «brewer's dray».

Examples

• A big dray horse pulled the barrels through the town. tree →
• In Victorian London, drays rattled over the cobbles. tree →
• The brewery shows its drays at the county fair. tree →
• The barrels were loaded onto the dray. tree →
• Shire horses are often used as dray horses. tree →
• In old Australia, drays carried wool to the ports. tree →

Note

Countable: drays. Old-fashioned word, mostly in history. Dray horses are large, strong breeds like Shires and Clydesdales.