forager
Americannoun
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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.
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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.
Etymology
Origin of forager
First recorded in 1350–1400, for an earlier sense; forag(e) ( def. ) + -er 1 ( def. )
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.
Lancashire forager Colin Unsworth said some species had appeared in "bumper" numbers, although others had been harder to find.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
On an off-day hike, Newton and a forager friend had to spring into action when a restaurant called with an order for five pounds of ramps to be delivered the next day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
“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 ● Dec. 10, 2025
And on her new plant and fungi walks, starting this month, Bay Area forager Cindy Li will share knowledge gained foraging with her immigrant parents.
From Salon ● May 30, 2024
One way to remedy this is to look at modern forager societies.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.