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

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

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026

Heatwaves also severely disrupt reproduction, flight capacity and ability to forage.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026

The surrogate teaches the pup to groom, forage, and behave like a wild otter, Long said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026

It enabled our ancestors to forage for food and water during the hottest period of the day, with sweat to keep them from overheating.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026

Livestock ordinarily avoid this plant unless forced to turn to it in late winter and early spring by lack of other forage.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

We were planning adventures, date nights and what we would cook with our forages from the farmers market.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026

Chef Mo, who owns a tiny hole-in-the-wall eatery in Jeonju, forages her own mushrooms on the mountainside, grows produce in her backyard and makes most of her laborious, time-intensive dishes from scratch.

From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2025

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

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

In mid-May, public health officials in Napa County said three people had been hospitalized after eating poisonous wild mushrooms foraged in the Deer Park community.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 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

“With these foraged apples, you can sprinkle that in to add complexity.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025

Admitting she had foraged wild mushrooms, as many locals in the area do, wouldn't have set off alarm bells.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 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

It also serves as a winter foraging site for Cook Inlet beluga whales, whose numbers have dropped to around 300.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

After only three days, the bees exposed to glyphosate showed a 13 percent decline in foraging activity.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026

The species at one time bred along the Exmoor coastline, which continues to provide ideal foraging, including an abundance of fish, and breeding habitat for the birds.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

The nonprofit has long maintained that the land — reportedly the last undeveloped sliver of Big Bear Lake’s shoreline — represents critical foraging habitat for the eagles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

I climbed down and went foraging on the island.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

Related Words

• comb
• rummage
• scour
• scrounge