forage
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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to collect forage from; strip of supplies; plunder.
to forage the countryside.
-
to supply with forage.
-
to obtain by foraging.
noun
-
food for horses or cattle, esp hay or straw
-
the act of searching for food or provisions
-
military a raid or incursion
verb
-
to search (the countryside or a town) for food, provisions, etc
-
(intr) military to carry out a raid
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(tr) to obtain by searching about
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(tr) to give food or other provisions to
-
(tr) to feed (cattle or horses) with such food
Related Words
See feed.
Other Word Forms
- forager noun
- unforaged adjective
Etymology
Origin of forage
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Old French fourrage, derivative of fuerre fodder (from Germanic )
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.
Fern had been spotted wandering around for weeks, probably foraging for food, but no-one could get near.
From BBC
A police officer involved in a controversy sparked by efforts to sanction a woman for mushroom foraging has been found to have committed gross misconduct.
From BBC
I shakily followed Hanson up a canyon as he worked his way through openings he said were likely blazed by foraging bears, then over a fallen tree trunk that crumbled under my steps.
From Los Angeles Times
The drovers would forage along the way, picking berries, acorns and gleaning corn for the birds to eat.
From BBC
We entered just to browse, but Billy personally sized my head and recommended a blue Union Army forage cap.
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.
