forager

American  

[fawr-i-jer, for-] / ˈfɔr ɪ dʒər, ˈfɒr- /

noun

1. a person or animal who goes out in search of food or provisions of any kind.

   The ants you see are the foragers, out looking for food and water, and they represent only a very small number of the total colony.

2. someone who collects or obtains things through hunting or searching about.

   We meet the protagonist struggling to make ends meet as a scrap-metal forager in a remote community.

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Etymology

Origin of forager

First recorded in 1350–1400, for an earlier sense; forag(e) ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Among the affected are monolingual speakers of Spanish, Chinese, Mandarin and Mixteco as well as foragers who may confuse the death cap mushroom for edible fungi from their native countries, according to experts.

From Los Angeles Times

“A novice forager should only eat wild mushrooms after they’ve been taught to identify them by an expert in their region,” Diaz said.

From Los Angeles Times

Scientists still do not know how the colony responds when foragers return with less than expected.

From Science Daily

Local foragers were hired to spot the next food fads.

From The Wall Street Journal

Unlike a few of the seedling apples we’d tasted—some of which foragers evocatively call “spitters”—this was fruit I’d cut up to serve with thick slices of cheddar.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bandit
• burglar
• con artist
• crook
• looter
• marauder
• mugger
• pickpocket
• pirate
• raider
• rustler
• shoplifter
• swindler
• thief
• thug