stray

American  

[strey] / streɪ /

verb (used without object)

strays, present (3rd person singular) strayed, past participle, past straying present participle

1. to deviate from the direct course, leave the proper place, or go beyond the proper limits, especially without a fixed course or purpose.

   to stray from the main road.

   Synonyms:

   range, rove

2. to wander; roam.

   I strayed through the maze of the forest.

   Synonyms:

   meander, drift

3. to go astray; deviate, as from a moral, religious, or philosophical course.

   to stray from the teachings of the church.

   Synonyms:

   err

4. to digress or become distracted.

   to stray from the main topic.

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noun

strays plural

1. a domestic animal found wandering at large or without an owner.

   The humane society traps strays, spays or neuters them, and returns them to the feral colony in which they were found.

2. any person or animal who is homeless or friendless.

   For a popular girl, she has the oddest misfit friends—her mom says she just can’t help but collect strays.

3. a person or animal that strays.

   the strays of a flock.

4. Radio. strays, static.

adjective

1. straying or having strayed, as a domestic animal.

2. found or occurring apart from others or as an isolated or casual instance; incidental or occasional.

3. Radio. undesired.

   stray capacitance.

stray British  

/ streɪ /

verb

1. to wander away, as from the correct path or from a given area

2. to wander haphazardly

3. to digress from the point, lose concentration, etc

4. to deviate from certain moral standards

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noun

1. 1. a domestic animal, fowl, etc, that has wandered away from its place of keeping and is lost

   2. ( as modifier )

      stray dogs

2. a lost or homeless person, esp a child

   waifs and strays

3. an isolated or random occurrence, specimen, etc, that is out of place or outside the usual pattern

adjective

1. scattered, random, or haphazard

   a stray bullet grazed his thigh

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• strayer
  noun
• unstraying
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• strays
  plural

Participles

• straying
  present
• strayed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• stray
  simple
• strays
  simple
• have strayed
  perfect
• has strayed
  perfect
• am straying
  progressive
• are straying
  progressive
• is straying
  progressive
• have been straying
  perfect progressive
• has been straying
  perfect progressive

Past

• strayed
  simple
• had strayed
  perfect
• was straying
  progressive
• were straying
  progressive
• had been straying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will stray
  simple
• will have strayed
  perfect
• will be straying
  progressive
• will have been straying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of stray

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb straien, strayen, from Old French estraier, from unrecorded Vulgar Latin extrāvagāre “to wander out of bounds”; see origin at extravagant

Explanation

Little Red Riding Hood strayed from the path and ended up getting eaten by the Big Bad Wolf. When you stray, you wander off without paying attention to where you're going, and sometimes you get in trouble. Stray can be used as a verb or as a noun. Your attention may stray when you're tired and listening to a very boring lecture. You may be the kind of person who brings home strays, the dogs and cats that have wandered away from their homes and are lost and hungry. When you're organizing your sock drawer and you've got one sock without a mate, you might find the stray sock left behind in the dryer.

Example Sentences

Even so, when Paul told me that he and his partner were separating, my jaw hit the ground, taking a stray piece of grilled chicken with it.

From Salon • Jul. 5, 2026

Local authorities were also ordered to take stray dogs off the streets and many events were cancelled, including exams, graduation ceremonies, festivals, concerts, entertainment and celebrations for the summit week.

From Barron's • Jun. 25, 2026

Most species stay at depths where they’re unlikely to encounter people, but some are more likely to stray into waters with swimmers and surfers—especially at coastal hot spots.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 21, 2026

Megan McColl had no excuse, however, when she shelled Dunkley's stray cut when the England batter had 45.

From BBC • Jun. 20, 2026

Autumn and Ama peel stray webbing from their clothes and weapons.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Related Words

• deviate
• drift
• err
• meander
• roam
• swerve