stray

[ strey ]

/ streɪ /

verb (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; ramble: to stray from the main road.

to wander; roam: The new puppy strayed from room to room.

to go astray; deviate, as from a moral, religious, or philosophical course: to stray from the teachings of the church.

to digress or become distracted.

noun

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

any homeless or friendless person or animal.

a person or animal that strays: the strays of a flock.

strays, Radio. 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.

Origin of stray

1250–1300; (v.) Middle English strayen, aphetic variant of astraien, estraien < Middle French estraier < Vulgar Latin *extrāvagāre to wander out of bounds (see extravagant); (noun) Middle English, in part derivative of the v., in part < Anglo-French stray, Middle French estrai, derivative of estraier

SYNONYMS FOR stray

1 rove, range.

2 meander.

3 err.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR stray ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM stray

stray·er, noun un·stray·ing, adjective

Words nearby stray

strawhat, strawson, strawweight, strawworm, strawy, stray, strayhorn, strays, strayve, streak, streak culture

Example sentences from the Web for stray

She narrowed her eyes, bit her lip as if to chew over the question, and whisked some stray blond hairs away from her face.

Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’ |Asawin Suebsaeng |January 7, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
While some stray from the fold, most stay with the same pack their entire lives.

Mongooses, Meerkats, and Ants, Oh My! Why Some Animals Keep Mating All in the Family |Helen Thompson |December 29, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
On the weekends the birds and stray cats keep the artists company as they set up their displays.

The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind |Brin-Jonathan Butler |December 19, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The film tells the story of Ron “Stray Dog” Hall, a burly, sixtysomething biker and Vietnam vet.

Life After ‘Winter’s Bone’: Debra Granik on Finding J. Law and the Plight of the Female Director |Marlow Stern |October 24, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Three stray dogs saunter out of our way as we turn into a residential area lined with trailers and graffiti-sprayed stop signs.

A Shooting on a Tribal Land Uncovers Feds Running Wild |Caitlin Dickson |August 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I don't see why some of them may not stray into our world sometimes.'

The Magic Nuts |Mrs. Molesworth
Strong in self-confidence, she had no fear that her mind could be influenced to stray from its proper path.

The Continental Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 5, May, 1864 |Various
But every moment lessened the danger from stray bullets, and the chance of the bayonet charge from behind.

The Bronze Eagle |Emmuska Orczy, Baroness Orczy
For you stand or stray in the futile building, while the cloud is no mansion for man, and out of reach of his limitations.

The Colour of Life |Alice Meynell
This is sometimes called a "stop-butt," its purpose being to secure the ground behind the targets from stray shots.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4 |Various

British Dictionary definitions for stray

stray

/ (streɪ) /

verb (intr)

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

scattered, random, or haphazard a stray bullet grazed his thigh

Derived forms of stray

strayer, noun

Word Origin for stray

C14: from Old French estraier, from Vulgar Latin estragāre (unattested), from Latin extrā- outside + vagāri to roam; see astray, extravagant, stravaig

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

stray

verb (used without object)

noun

adjective

Origin of stray

SYNONYMS FOR stray

OTHER WORDS FROM stray

Words nearby stray

Example sentences from the Web for stray

British Dictionary definitions for stray

verb (intr)

noun

adjective

Derived forms of stray

Word Origin for stray

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

stray

verb (used without object)

noun

adjective

Origin of stray

SYNONYMS FOR stray

OTHER WORDS FROM stray

Words nearby stray

Words related to stray

Example sentences from the Web for stray

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for stray

verb (intr)

noun

adjective

Derived forms of stray

Word Origin for stray

British Dictionary definitions for stray