stray
verb (used without object)
to deviate from the direct course, leave the proper place, or go beyond the proper limits, especially without a fixed course or purpose.
strayed
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past participleof stray.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof stray.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
strayverb (used without object)to deviate from the direct course, leave the proper place, or go beyond the proper limits, especially without a fixed course or purpose.
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.
“I strayed on my wife, and it’s devastating to her and not a very pretty picture. What it isn’t is a crime,” he said at the time.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
Townfall is not the first time the series has strayed away from the original game's location in America, 2025's Silent Hill f was set in 1960s rural Japan.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
More recently, however, as cost-of-living concerns have risen for Singaporean voters, the government has strayed from that formula.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
On our way back down, an Australian tourist strayed from the path toward a tunnel entrance.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
There was a moment of dead silence, while the bishop’s hand strayed vaguely to his pectoral cross and Gawaine’s clenched itself in the bed clothes.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
