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:
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
In the oppressive heat, the hosts battled hard on a surface where any small stray in length or length was punished by the batters.
From BBC ● 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
The avenue is jammed on weekends, a rare artery of late-night action surrounded by streets abandoned to stray dogs as midnight approaches.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
It moved the stray curls coming undone from Glory’s braids, the curtains, and the leafy plants decorating the wide living area.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
“Too often, the U.S. strays from long-term economic priorities, while China can go too far and fail to acknowledge its mistakes until it is too late. There is a happy median in there somewhere.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Noah telling Kendrick “I remembered what you can do to lightskinned dudes from other countries” - Drake is never not catching strays at the Grammys.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 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
The yeti devours anything that strays into its path, though it fears fire and may be repulsed by skilled wizards.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
The high court rejected all three of those policies, but Alito never strayed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
And though she liked the show, she thought it strayed too far from the books.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
A Kane penalty… a guaranteed goal surely… but no, it's saved… wait… the Croatia keeper had strayed off his line and the referee orders a retake… Kane places the ball down again… shoots… GOAL!!!
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
The athleisure giant has struggled with tariffs and competition, and analysts have said it has strayed from its core consumers and workout wear.
From MarketWatch ● May 18, 2026
Anyway, Rabscuttle got separated from the others, and after wandering about for some time, he strayed into the guards’ quarters outside King Darzin’s city; and they caught him and took him up to the King.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
All of them are at their best when they behave relatively normally instead of straying into caricatures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
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
A lost wife, a straying man, a better life, a place to come to rest, a purpose.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 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
She laughs at something he says, her hands, for once, not straying to her eyepatch.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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.
