Synonyms

go astray

Idioms

Wander off the right path or subject; also, wander into evil or error. For example, It was hard to follow the lecturer's gist, since he kept going astray, or The gang members led him astray, and he ended up in court. This expression alludes to sheep or other animals that stray from the rest of the flock. Indeed, Handel's oratorio Messiah (1741) has this chorus: “All we like sheep have gone astray, Every one to his own way.” [c. 1300]

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.

go astray

If the digging phase is where ideas are found, it is also where many people go astray.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

Some good news about China's relations with the other world superpower would not go astray.

From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2023

It’s just that I go astray here and there.”

From New York Times ● Oct. 18, 2023

But in rocketry, as in life, sometimes the most careful plans go astray.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2022

There are plenty of reasons a verb can go astray.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023