foray
Americannoun
-
forays
plural
verb (used without object)
-
forays,
present (3rd person singular)
-
forayed,
past participle, past
-
foraying
present participle
-
to make a raid; pillage; maraud.
-
to invade or make one's way, as for profit or adventure.
foreign industries foraying into U.S. markets.
verb (used with object)
-
forays,
present (3rd person singular)
-
forayed,
past participle, past
-
foraying
present participle
noun
-
a short raid or incursion
-
a first attempt or new undertaking
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
foraysimple
-
forayssimple
-
have forayedperfect
-
has forayedperfect
-
am forayingprogressive
-
are forayingprogressive
-
is forayingprogressive
-
have been forayingperfect progressive
-
has been forayingperfect progressive
Past
-
forayedsimple
-
had forayedperfect
-
was forayingprogressive
-
were forayingprogressive
-
had been forayingperfect progressive
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 1–6
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Plus, Nvidia’s foray into finance and the world’s craziest stock market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
This is not Feliciano’s first foray into professional sports.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
Self-driving car company Waymo said Tuesday it will launch its robotaxis in the German city of Munich next year, marking the US group's first foray into the European Union.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
This marks his first foray into sports ownership, although he will not join Liverpool's board.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
I followed them, having no direction of my own, except away from Siuwensin; which, I gathered as we walked, had been raided by a foray from Passerer across the bridge.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Famous Boston fund manager Jeremy Grantham recalled in his autobiography one of his first forays into stock picking as a young man.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
But its forays into men's football have not borne similar fruit.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Rollins also crossed over to a non-jazz audience with occasional forays into rock, most notably his appearances on The Rolling Stones' 1981 album "Tattoo You."
From Barron's ● May 26, 2026
Keenan, who has been tending to her streets for several years, has been paying Phillips $100 for Wednesday scouting forays and another $100 to fill four or five huge bags on Saturday trash patrol.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2026
Her forays out of the apartment, while her husband is at work, are limited to the university within which they live, and to the historic district that flanks the campus on one edge.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
He launched his label in 2006 and has since collaborated on a collection with Target and forayed into home goods with Schumacher.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 11, 2022
This is not the first time Donaldson has forayed into food but it may be the most profitable.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2022
Broadcom has also diversified beyond its core chip business and forayed into the lucrative software arena, at a time when the world grapples with supply chain disruptions and an industry-wide chip shortage.
From Reuters ● Dec. 9, 2021
Her parents have also forayed into the reality show world.
From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2019
I have my mother’s thin blood, the kind so easily forayed by a chilly draft, an unexpected rain.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
Several major investment and private equity firms are also foraying into the private credit market to fill the chasm created in tech funding, especially debt financing, by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March.
From Reuters ● Jun. 29, 2023
As Ford sped forward, a sea of red-coated musicians cavorted and pranced across the south end of the field, foraying past the 20-yard line.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2021
Their sit-and-wait technique involved male baboons hovering around urban perimeters before foraying into the city.
From National Geographic ● Jan. 26, 2018
While Fletcher and his students are foraying into other applications of the mobile microscope, such as examining your skin or testing for malaria and Tb, MIT’s Ramesh Raskar has become known as the ‘Eye Guy.’
From Forbes ● Jul. 1, 2014
When he had reduced his enemies to the last extremity for want of provision, he was forced to give them battle, in the plains near Saguntum, to hinder them from foraying, and plundering the country.
From Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans by Arthur Hugh Clough
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.
