foraging

[fawr-i-jing, for-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR foraging ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the acquisition of food by hunting, fishing, or the gathering of plant matter.

adjective

characterized by or dependent upon the acquisition of food by such means; food-gathering: a foraging people.

Nearby words

forage

[fawr-ij, for-]

noun

food for horses or cattle; fodder; provender.

the seeking or obtaining of such food.

the act of searching for provisions of any kind.

a raid.

verb (used without object), for·aged, for·ag·ing.

to wander or go in search of provisions.

to search about; seek; rummage; hunt: He went foraging in the attic for old mementos.

to make a raid.

verb (used with object), for·aged, for·ag·ing.

to collect forage from; strip of supplies; plunder: to forage the countryside.

to supply with forage.

to obtain by foraging.

Origin of forage

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

Related formsfor·ag·er, nounun·for·aged, adjective

Synonym study

1. See feed.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for foraging

Mountain sheep were everywhere, some sleeping by the road, some foraging, bells ringing from their necks as they moved.
Is This Hemingway’s Pamplona or a Lot of Bull?|Clive Irving|July 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Salt Point is also the setting of a cautionary tale about foraging that has spread like a fungus among the mycological community.
The Foraging Wars: Extreme Eating Hits California|Debra A. Klein|January 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Attempts to mimic the eating habits of our foraging relatives results from a confused understanding of our history.
Eat Like a Caveman? The Trouble With Paleo Living|Robert Herritt|March 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
My wife comes home from a foraging mission and reports seeing homemade signs in the area that say, "Con Ed Sucks."
Lights Out in Westchester, New York|Malcolm Jones|November 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST

But often Steinbeck was traveling across the western U.S., with no good fishing or foraging to be had.
Menu for a Moveable Feast: 10 Famous Authors and Their Favorite Foods & Recipes|Nicole Villeneuve|October 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST
This leads me to believe that this partly accounts for their foraging at night.
Ohio Arbor Day 1913: Arbor and Bird Day Manual|Various
Then the members of the foraging party remembered they had no authority from their officer in command to conduct such operations.
Battery E in France|Frederic R. Kilner
We also held the country to the south and west of the Ogeechee as foraging ground.
Life of Wm. Tecumseh Sherman.|W. Fletcher Johnson
This individual was observed at close range while swimming and foraging in North Creek, and there can be no doubt of its identity.
Additional Records and Extensions of Known Ranges of Mammals from Utah|Stephen D. Durrant
The officer in charge of the foraging party would ride up to the monastery with his escort.
To Lhassa at Last|Powell Millington

British Dictionary definitions for foraging

forage

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

(tr) to obtain by searching about

(tr) to give food or other provisions to

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

Derived Formsforager, noun

Word Origin for forage

C14: from Old French fourrage, probably of Germanic origin; see food, fodder

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for foraging

forage

early 14c. (late 13c. as Anglo-Latin foragium), from Old French forrage "fodder, foraging, pillaging, looting" (12c., Modern French fourrage), from fuerre "hay, straw, forage, fodder" (Modern French feurre) "fodder, straw," from Frankish *fodr "food" or a similar Germanic source (cf. Old High German fuotar, Old English fodor); see fodder). Military forage cap attested by 1827.

forage

early 15c., from Middle French fourrager, from fourage (Old French forrage; see forage (n.)). Related: Foraged; foraging.

foraging

noun

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

forage

noun

verb (used without object), for·aged, for·ag·ing.

verb (used with object), for·aged, for·ag·ing.

Origin of forage

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for foraging

forage

noun

verb

Word Origin for forage

forage

forage