foray
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
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to make a raid; pillage; maraud.
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to invade or make one's way, as for profit or adventure.
foreign industries foraying into U.S. markets.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a short raid or incursion
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a first attempt or new undertaking
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have forayedperfect
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has forayedperfect 3rd person singular
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have been forayingperfect progressive
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is forayingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been forayingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are forayingprogressive
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am forayingprogressive 1st person singular
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forayssingular 3rd person
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forayingparticiple
Past
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had forayedperfect
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was forayingprogressive singular
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had been forayingperfect progressive
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were forayingprogressive plural
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forayedparticiple
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forayedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of foray
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English forraien, apparently by back formation from forrayour, forreour, forrier, from Old French forrier, fourrier, equivalent to fo(u)rr(er), derivative of fuerre “provender” ( see forage) + -ier -ier 2
Explanation
Foray means brief excursion. If you're in the army, that's a literal excursion into enemy territory. For the rest of us, it means trying something out. "My foray into rugby ended with my spending a week in the hospital." This word derives from the Latin fuerre 'straw', which led into Old French as fourager 'forage,' or search for food. Think of soldiers stealing food from the enemy as maybe how this word first came to be used. Even if that is historically inaccurate, your foray into amateur word-sleuthing will help you remember this word.
Vocabulary lists containing foray
To Kill a Mockingbird
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 1–6
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In May 2026, she announced her candidacy for senator - her first foray into politics.
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
The cocktail that broke the internet predated the release of his foray into food TV: “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy.”
From Salon • Jun. 3, 2026
The spillover implications of Google’s equity market foray are myriad, coming just days ahead of SpaceX’s $2 trillion IPO and the planned flotations of AI startups Anthropic and OpenAI.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
Maurer notes that, almost a decade ago, it became clear to him that Mastercard’s foray into services meant its stock could trade at a premium to Visa’s, a call that panned out for years.
From MarketWatch • May 25, 2026
They did not use the sonic, stunners but the foray gun, the ancient weapon that fires a set of metal fragments in a burst.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
