stray
Americanverb (used without object)
-
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.
-
to wander; roam.
I strayed through the maze of the forest.
-
to go astray; deviate, as from a moral, religious, or philosophical course.
to stray from the teachings of the church.
- Synonyms:
- err
-
to digress or become distracted.
to stray from the main topic.
noun
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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.
-
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.
-
a person or animal that strays.
the strays of a flock.
-
Radio. strays, static.
adjective
-
straying or having strayed, as a domestic animal.
-
found or occurring apart from others or as an isolated or casual instance; incidental or occasional.
-
Radio. undesired.
stray capacitance.
verb
-
to wander away, as from the correct path or from a given area
-
to wander haphazardly
-
to digress from the point, lose concentration, etc
-
to deviate from certain moral standards
noun
-
-
a domestic animal, fowl, etc, that has wandered away from its place of keeping and is lost
-
( as modifier )
stray dogs
-
-
a lost or homeless person, esp a child
waifs and strays
-
an isolated or random occurrence, specimen, etc, that is out of place or outside the usual pattern
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
straysimple
-
strayssimple
-
have strayedperfect
-
has strayedperfect
-
am strayingprogressive
-
are strayingprogressive
-
is strayingprogressive
-
have been strayingperfect progressive
-
has been strayingperfect progressive
Past
-
strayedsimple
-
had strayedperfect
-
was strayingprogressive
-
were strayingprogressive
-
had been strayingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing stray
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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:
It is a place out of time, reached by a rocky road between arid hills and the sea where you have to dodge stray cows, goats and wild horses.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
On the page, the mighty ships are reduced to stray dots like mouse turds.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
Ignorant of what caused the disease and how it was spread, during the 1916 crisis New York City administrators killed thousands of stray dogs and cats and blasted sidewalks with water.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
Karen has watched her son accidentally miss his opponents saying something as he turns to get a stray ball.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
“You picked up another stray, girlie?” the Huntsman said, smiling at Phillip.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
Mr. James has compiled his own self-help manifesto, one that strays into platitudes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026
For casual listeners, there are other signs: Inconsistent drum patterns, bland lyrics, and a singer who never strays from the melody or lets rip on the final chorus.
From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2026
Each 11-minute episode follows mundane escapades, like hosting a movie night or getting in a hot tub, punctuated by a somewhat disturbing art style and clumsy-on-purpose animation that strays into the uncanny valley.
From Salon ● Dec. 26, 2025
District councillor Lau Chun-hoi said he still hoped more pets that survived, citing reports of strays.
From Barron's ● Dec. 2, 2025
When a description strays too far, the sentence becomes awkward and hard to read.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
All in all I came up with about 50 songs, many of which strayed away from the original concept.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Kane, who now has a remarkable 81 goals in 115 internationals, saw an odd stuttering penalty saved - but won a reprieve when it was adjudged keeper Livakovic had strayed off his line.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
“Try doing a run behind a garbage truck,” the stepdad exhorted, setting Mr. Paré-Poupart on a course from which he’s never strayed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
CEO Philipp Navratil’s challenge is to revive sales, trim fat from a business that has strayed beyond its core brands, and bring stability after years of turmoil.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
If a chicken strayed too close to the cooking pot, his tale was about a reckless chicken.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
The Treasury market has been quiet lately, with 10-year debt barely straying from a yield of 4.3% in April.
From Barron's ● Apr. 27, 2026
But many Cubans blame their own leaders for mismanaging the economy — and straying from the ideals of Castro’s revolution.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 22, 2026
What the Ravens didn’t count on was another team straying so far positional norms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026
The first was straying from the subject for almost half his speech.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026
She paused, her gaze straying to the four sealed letters she’d already prepared: one for each of the Masters, to inform them of the events of the previous night, and of her failure.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
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.
