stray

1 of 3

noun

ˈstrā 

1

a

: a domestic animal that is wandering at large or is lost

b

: a person or thing that strays

2

[Middle English, from straien to stray] archaic : the act of going astray

stray

2 of 3

verb

strayed; straying; strays

intransitive verb

: wander: such as

a

: to wander from company, restraint, or proper limits

b

: to roam about without fixed direction or purpose

c

: to move in a winding course : meander

d

: to move without conscious or intentional effort

eyes straying absently around the room

e

: to become distracted from an argument or train of thought

strayed from the point

f

: to wander accidentally from a fixed or chosen route

g

: err, sin

strayer noun

stray

3 of 3

adjective

1

: having strayed or escaped from a proper or intended place

a stray dog

2

: occurring at random or sporadically

stray thoughts

3

: not serving any useful purpose : unwanted

stray light

Synonyms

Verb

• err
• fall
• offend
• sin
• transgress
• trespass
• wander

Adjective

• aimless
• arbitrary
• catch-as-catch-can
• desultory
• erratic
• haphazard
• helter-skelter
• hit-or-miss
• random
• scattered
• slapdash

Examples of stray in a Sentence

Noun

Both of her cats were strays that she found wandering in the neighborhood.

Verb

The airplane strayed off course.

our straying son swears he's returned to the straight and narrow

Adjective

stray sightings of UFO's, none of which have been rigorously analyzed by scientists

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Pet of the Week Amber is a sweet lab mix who came to us after being found as a stray with her 2 siblings. —Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, arkansasonline.com, 3 Nov. 2024

Charlie the golden retriever, thought to be 8 years old, was discovered as a stray and taken to Sean Casey Animal Rescue in Brooklyn, New York. —Marco Rubio, Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2024

Verb

And without clear insight into their own strengths, companies start to stray for what seem like good business reasons. —Dev Patnaik, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

Despite the logistical advantages, there is also the fact that many emerging filmmakers want to stray away from the Western machine that has long been accused of portraying the Arab world through a biased lens. —Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 2 Nov. 2024

Adjective

And Price withdrew special-circumstances allegations against the men accused of killing 23-month-old Jasper Wu with a stray bullet during a 2021 freeway shooting. —East Bay Times Editorial, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024

She’s saddled with an impossible role — that of Susan, an unhappy American wife on vacation with her husband in Morocco, where she’s hit by a stray bullet that puts her life in danger and generates artificial life-or-death stakes. —Tim Grierson, Vulture, 18 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French estraié, past participle of estraier

Verb

Middle English straien, from Anglo-French estraier, from Vulgar Latin *extravagare, from Latin extra- outside + vagari to wander — more at extra-

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1589, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

stray

1 of 3 noun

ˈstrā 

1

: a domestic animal that is wandering loose or is lost

2

: a person or thing that strays

stray

2 of 3 verb

1

: to wander from a group or from the proper place : roam

the dog strayed from the yard

2

: to wander from a fixed or chosen route or at random

accidentally strayed off the path

3

: to become distracted from an argument or chain of thought

strayed from the point

strayer noun

stray

3 of 3 adjective

1

: having strayed or been lost

a stray dog

2

: occurring in one place and another or at random

a few stray hairs