foray
Americannoun
-
forays
plural
verb (used without object)
-
forays,
present (3rd person singular)
-
forayed,
past participle, past
-
foraying
present participle
-
to make a raid; pillage; maraud.
-
to invade or make one's way, as for profit or adventure.
foreign industries foraying into U.S. markets.
verb (used with object)
-
forays,
present (3rd person singular)
-
forayed,
past participle, past
-
foraying
present participle
noun
-
a short raid or incursion
-
a first attempt or new undertaking
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
foraysimple
-
forayssimple
-
have forayedperfect
-
has forayedperfect
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am forayingprogressive
-
are forayingprogressive
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is forayingprogressive
-
have been forayingperfect progressive
-
has been forayingperfect progressive
Past
-
forayedsimple
-
had forayedperfect
-
was forayingprogressive
-
were forayingprogressive
-
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:
The deal marks Bezos’ first foray into sports ownership, but he won’t have a board seat at the soccer club.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
This marks his first foray into sports ownership, although he will not join Liverpool's board.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
The deal would be Bezos’ first foray into the world of sports ownership.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Colson Whitehead’s latest foray into the bent world of “reluctant fence” Ray Carney — “Cool Machine,” the third and final installment of his Harlem Trilogy — is an American epic disguised as a heist novel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Njemile regaled him with tales of her first foray into online dating.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
Famous Boston fund manager Jeremy Grantham recalled in his autobiography one of his first forays into stock picking as a young man.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
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
But its forays into men's football have not borne similar fruit.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
It’s been tweaked and freshened up a few times since, and became a signature of the brand’s first forays into ready-to-wear apparel under the guidance of Marc Jacobs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026
“Early forays by Risley into the realm of female symbolish and the charismatic naure of domestic objects,” says Charna.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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
Many forayed into equity options, lifting U.S. volumes more than 40% from 2020, analytics firm Trade Alert estimates.
From Reuters ● Dec. 28, 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
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
Analysts are now scrutinising whether Grab can justify its valuations by turbocharging growth in its existing businesses and successfully foraying into digital banking.
From Reuters ● Apr. 28, 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 Flower of Yarrow herself did not disdain to stimulate, in this way, the foraying spirit of old Harden.
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume III by Various
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.
