definitions
  • synonyms

foray

[ fawr-ey, for-ey ]
/ ˈfɔr eɪ, ˈfɒr eɪ /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR foray ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a quick raid, usually for the purpose of taking plunder: Vikings made a foray on the port.
a quick, sudden attack: The defenders made a foray outside the walls.
an initial venture: a successful foray into politics.

verb (used without object)

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)

to ravage in search of plunder; pillage.

RELATED CONTENT

Pour, Pore, And Other Trending Words On Dictionary.comWe pored over the data this week, and we got a good look at what words you learned from the news. Whether it was a presidential grammar mistake or an HBO show host's foray into teen speak, here's what made folks curious.
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

raid, violate, plunder, pillage, ravage, occupy, breach, storm, infect, penetrate, loot, infest, overrun, swamp, overwhelm, rout, massacre, devastate, rob, liberate

Nearby words

foraminifer, foraminifera, foraminiferan, forasmuch as, forasmuchas, foray, forb, forbad, forbade, forbear, forbearance

Origin of foray

1350–1400; Middle English forraien, apparently by back formation from forrayour, forreour, forrier < Old French forrier, fourrier, equivalent to fo(u)rr(er), derivative of fuerre provender (see forage) + -ier -ier2
SYNONYMS FOR foray
1 attack, assault, invasion, incursion, sortie.
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR foray ON THESAURUS.COM
Related formsfor·ay·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for forayed

  • He chose North Adams as his headquarters, and forayed thence in various directions over a radius of twenty miles.

    Hawthorne and His Circle|Julian Hawthorne

  • I wonder how many people thought of this when Englishmen "forayed Gaza" just before Easter, 1917?

    A History of the French Novel, Vol. 1|George Saintsbury

  • I surely have hunted and forayed and fought all the days of my life.

    The Sea-Wolf|Jack London

British Dictionary definitions for forayed

foray

/ (ˈfɒreɪ) /

noun

a short raid or incursion
a first attempt or new undertaking

verb

to raid or ravage (a town, district, etc)
Derived Formsforayer, noun

Word Origin for foray

C14: from forrayen to pillage, from Old French forreier, from forrier forager, from fuerre fodder; see forage
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 forayed

foray

n.

late 14c., Scottish, from the verb (14c.), perhaps a back-formation of Middle English forreyer "raider, forager" (mid-14c.), from Old French forrier, from forrer "to forage" (see forage (n.)). Disused by 18c.; revived by Scott.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper