forager

[fawr-i-jer, for-]

noun

1. a person or animal who goes out in search of food or provisions of any kind.

   The ants you see are the foragers, out looking for food and water, and they represent only a very small number of the total colony.

2. someone who collects or obtains things through hunting or searching about.

   We meet the protagonist struggling to make ends meet as a scrap-metal forager in a remote community.

Word History and Origins

Origin of forager¹

First recorded in 1350–1400, for an earlier sense; forag(e) ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

The self-described mushroom lover and amateur forager had told the court it was all a tragic accident.

Read more on BBC

His career paths are hunter, forager or watchtower guard, but he seems more like the product of a progressive Montessori school, even with his dad urging him to cackle at shredded deer intestines.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Flooding and drought significantly impact wild-foraged products, with damage that often takes years to stabilize. For example, the floods in North Carolina in September 2024 severely affected Appalachian truffle foragers.”

Read more on Salon

The musician is a keen forager with "an interest in mushrooms", and said she knew how to identify it and not mistake it for something poisonous.

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The space was redolent of chanterelles, a bowlful of which she’d just received from a forager friend in exchange for a burger.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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