definitions

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.

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RELATED WORDS

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

Nearby words

foraminate, foraminifer, foraminiferan, forasmuch as, forasmuchas, foray, forb, forbade, forbear, forbearance, forbes

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

Related forms

for·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 Forms

forayer, 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