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

Year on year, Mayhew has seen a 60 percent increase in stray and sign-over help requests, Patt said. —Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024

Erika looks around the room, hoping there won’t be another stray headed in her direction. —Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2024

Verb

Most restaurant chains get known for one item, introduce new offerings, but rarely stray far from their core menu. —Gary Stern, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024

The Detroit mayor is officially a nonpartisan office, but Duggan hasn’t tried to stray from his party previously. —Jared Gans, The Hill, 11 Dec. 2024

Adjective

The report identified cases of unconstitutional arrests, including an incident where officers transported the mother of a shooting victim to a police station and interrogated her while her daughter, who was struck by a stray bullet, was rushed to the hospital. —Landon Mion, Fox News, 16 Dec. 2024

That argument, which the bus driver was not involved in, ended in gunshots, with a stray slug piercing the bus’ windshield, the spokesman said. —John Annese, New York Daily News, 15 Dec. 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