foray
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
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to make a raid; pillage; maraud.
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to invade or make one's way, as for profit or adventure.
foreign industries foraying into U.S. markets.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a short raid or incursion
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a first attempt or new undertaking
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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foraysimple
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forayssimple
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have forayedperfect
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has forayedperfect
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am forayingprogressive
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are forayingprogressive
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is forayingprogressive
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have been forayingperfect progressive
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has been forayingperfect progressive
Past
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forayedsimple
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had forayedperfect
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was forayingprogressive
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were forayingprogressive
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had been forayingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of foray
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English forraien, apparently by back formation from forrayour, forreour, forrier, from Old French forrier, fourrier, equivalent to fo(u)rr(er), derivative of fuerre “provender” ( see forage) + -ier -ier 2
Explanation
Foray means brief excursion. If you're in the army, that's a literal excursion into enemy territory. For the rest of us, it means trying something out. "My foray into rugby ended with my spending a week in the hospital." This word derives from the Latin fuerre 'straw', which led into Old French as fourager 'forage,' or search for food. Think of soldiers stealing food from the enemy as maybe how this word first came to be used. Even if that is historically inaccurate, your foray into amateur word-sleuthing will help you remember this word.
Vocabulary lists containing foray
To Kill a Mockingbird
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 1–6
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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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.
See Examples For:
It is not Pelosi’s first foray into academic life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
It’s been a roller-coaster ride for Netflix investors over the past 12 months, following the company’s aggressive foray into the mergers-and-acquisitions market — namely, its failed effort to acquire Warner Bros.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026
Still, fans of A24’s output are unnerved by the foray into AI, believing the deal is antithetical to the trendy studio’s creative-first marketing.
From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026
However, this is not its first foray into the space.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
Njemile regaled him with tales of her first foray into online dating.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
New Zealand's Defence Force privately warned that Beijing's naval forays and ballistic missile tests would become a "persistent" feature of the Pacific, according to an internal document obtained by AFP last month.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
"I just happened to be given two gloves and I got into the habit of wearing them," Rai said of his early forays into the game.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
When Tesla reports quarterly earnings on Wednesday, the numbers could once again play second fiddle to narrative details about the company’s futuristic forays into robotaxis and humanoid robots.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 21, 2026
Keenan, who has been tending to her streets for several years, has been paying Phillips $100 for Wednesday scouting forays and another $100 to fill four or five huge bags on Saturday trash patrol.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2026
But as the Taliban had gained more power, they had banned photography, so that had ended their forays outside.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
He launched his label in 2006 and has since collaborated on a collection with Target and forayed into home goods with Schumacher.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 11, 2022
This is not the first time Donaldson has forayed into food but it may be the most profitable.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2022
Broadcom has also diversified beyond its core chip business and forayed into the lucrative software arena, at a time when the world grapples with supply chain disruptions and an industry-wide chip shortage.
From Reuters ● Dec. 9, 2021
Her parents have also forayed into the reality show world.
From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2019
I have my mother’s thin blood, the kind so easily forayed by a chilly draft, an unexpected rain.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
But Xiaomi, which reported an 18.9% drop in its latest quarterly revenue in May, has its own compulsions for foraying into EVs.
From Reuters ● Aug. 23, 2023
As Ford sped forward, a sea of red-coated musicians cavorted and pranced across the south end of the field, foraying past the 20-yard line.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2021
Their sit-and-wait technique involved male baboons hovering around urban perimeters before foraying into the city.
From National Geographic ● Jan. 26, 2018
While Fletcher and his students are foraying into other applications of the mobile microscope, such as examining your skin or testing for malaria and Tb, MIT’s Ramesh Raskar has become known as the ‘Eye Guy.’
From Forbes ● Jul. 1, 2014
The Khalif of Damascus had enjoined him on no account to risk the whole Moslem army in unknown dangers, and had only authorized small foraying expeditions.
From The Moors in Spain by Lane-Poole, Stanley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
