forage

American  

[fawr-ij, for-] / ˈfɔr ɪdʒ, ˈfɒr- /

noun

1. 

   food for horses or cattle; fodder; provender.

2. the seeking or obtaining of such food.

3. the act of searching for provisions of any kind.

4. a raid.

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verb (used without object)

• forages,
  present (3rd person singular)
• foraged,
  past participle,  past
• foraging
  present participle

1. to wander or go in search of provisions.

2. to search about; seek; rummage; hunt.

   He went foraging in the attic for old mementos.

3. to make a raid.

verb (used with object)

• forages,
  present (3rd person singular)
• foraged,
  past participle,  past
• foraging
  present participle

1. to collect forage from; strip of supplies; plunder.

   to forage the countryside.

2. to supply with forage.

3. to obtain by foraging.

forage British  

/ ˈfɒrɪdʒ /

noun

1. food for horses or cattle, esp hay or straw

2. the act of searching for food or provisions

3. military a raid or incursion

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verb

1. to search (the countryside or a town) for food, provisions, etc

2. (intr) military to carry out a raid

3. (tr) to obtain by searching about

4. (tr) to give food or other provisions to

5. (tr) to feed (cattle or horses) with such food

Synonym Usage

See feed.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• forager
  noun
• unforaged
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• foraging
  present
• foraged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• forage
  simple
• forages
  simple
• have foraged
  perfect
• has foraged
  perfect
• am foraging
  progressive
• are foraging
  progressive
• is foraging
  progressive
• have been foraging
  perfect progressive
• has been foraging
  perfect progressive

Past

• foraged
  simple
• had foraged
  perfect
• was foraging
  progressive
• were foraging
  progressive
• had been foraging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will forage
  simple
• will have foraged
  perfect
• will be foraging
  progressive
• will have been foraging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of forage

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Old French fourrage, derivative of fuerre fodder (from Germanic )

Explanation

To forage is to wander around looking for food. When it’s cold and snowy outside, birds may forage for food in your backyard, digging around for whatever they can find. The verb forage often describes animals searching for food, but it can also be applied to people. In those circumstances it retains the slightly desperate sense of coming up with whatever is available. For example, if you want to cook dinner but have no time to go to the grocery store, you might forage your refrigerator and cabinets to find good substitutes for ingredients in your recipe.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

forage forages foraged foraging

At first, Americans mostly grew soybeans as forage and livestock feed.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

They will be entitled to import forage from outside their zone, and use some supplements.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

As they grow older, they are more likely to leave the nest and forage for food.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026

Consider using small-holed haynets or slow feeders to reduce waste and help forage last longer.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

“The street of the bakers is this way. We shall forage for breakfast,” Michelangelo said, his voice hushed in the quiet hour.

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz

Not the kind you get at a tiny restaurant with exposed brick and a chef who forages.

From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2026

Ms Avery says she uses the ingredients she forages as inspiration for her products at L.A.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2024

While one bird protects the chicks—usually two—the partner forages at sea.

From National Geographic ● Nov. 30, 2023

Inspired by nature, Maya Holland of Cast & Clover hand forages and assembles each piece of jewelry in her Los Angeles studio.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2023

Emma didn’t mind his experiments with her flowers or his forages into her sewing box for threads to use in his experiments.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

As the guests lay critically ill, Patterson did not admit to using foraged mushrooms, choosing instead to lie to police and health workers.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Savannah and her mother joked about the javelinas, the piglike animals that foraged through the family’s trash cans at night.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

But officials said the man, who was described as being of “Hispanic descent,” died after eating wild mushrooms foraged at a regional park in the county.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2026

Their diet centered on smaller marine mammals including harbor seals and harbor porpoises, and they usually traveled and foraged in groups of about five.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 20, 2025

Across the table, Mom dipped her spoon delicately into her bowl of foraged greens, as though she were eating a gourmet meal.

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz

For Unsworth, autumn is the highlight of the foraging calendar.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

But Unsworth, who leads foraging trips across Lancashire, warned people not to eat wild mushrooms unless they were certain they had identified them correctly, as some poisonous species can closely resemble edible varieties.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Karen fights inflation by traveling during off-peak weekdays, making her own yogurt, and foraging for free, blemished produce.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation is hoping 2026 could be a “bumper summer of butterflies” because warm, dry days mean uninterrupted foraging, mating and egg-laying.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

One day I saw that it was indented severely, and cancelled a foraging trip.

From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

Related Words

• comb
• rummage
• scour
• scrounge