stray Definition
stray (strā)
intransitive verb
- to wander from a given place, limited area, direct course, etc., esp. aimlessly; roam; rove
- to go wrong; be in error; deviate (from what is right)
- to fail to concentrate; be inattentive or digress
Etymology: ME straien < OFr estraier < estrée, road, street < LL strata, street
noun
- a person or thing that strays; esp., a domestic animal wandering at large
- static interfering with radio reception
adjective
- having strayed or wandered; lost
- occurring alone or infrequently; isolated; incidental a few stray words
stray Related Forms
stray′er noun
stray Synonyms
stray Usage Examples
Object
- offside: The All Blacks quickly recovered and pressure in the England 22 brought a second penalty for Carter as England strayed offside at a ruck.
- dog: What happens to stray dogs that are picked up by the Dog Warden?
- sheep: He is prepared to take risks on behalf of the strayed sheep.
Preposition: onto
- stump: No luck so far - Jones strays onto leg stump and is clipped to fine leg for four.
- highway: Dogs must be kept under the control of a responsible adult and must not be allowed to stray onto the public highway.
Preposition: into
- realm: There is also a danger that community language teaching can stray into the realm of religious or cultural conditioning.
- territory: They have been on the road for 40 days, straying into stir-crazy territory.
Modifies a noun
- dog: The council must keep all stray dogs for 7 days during which time the owner may reclaim them.
- inductance: The comparatively low currents also make the inverter less sensitive to layout and stray inductance.
- cat: Stray cats: 27 November 2005 We get stray cats in all the time.
- bullet: The casualties included Major Burger, wounded by a stray bullet.
- kennel: Mom, again from stray dog kennels, a young Rotty not much more than a puppy herself.
- spark: A group known only as Capuchins were as usual on hand to put out any stray sparks.
Modifying Another Word
- far: You can't stray very far off the path.
- rarely: Explanations rarely stray beyond an indictment of British generals.
- occasionally: The Group also occasionally strays outside mathematics and formal methods to game playing ( bridge, go ), uncertainty and configuration problems.
- accidentally: She told of how, fixing her lipstick in a small hand-held mirror, she had accidentally strayed off the path.
Followed by a transitive particle
off: TESOL periodicals too will stray off center from time to time, for ill or good.
Particle object:
path: She told of how, fixing her lipstick in a small hand-held mirror, she had accidentally strayed off the path.
Preposition: from
path: He didn't stray from the path or ever ante up the action or tension in any of the scenes.
Browse dictionary entries near stray
- ‹ strawworm
- ‹ strawflower
- ‹ strawboard
- ‹ strawberry tree
- ‹ strawberry tomato
- ‹ strawberry shrub
- ‹ strawberry roan
- ‹ strawberry mark
- ‹ strawberry bush
- ‹ strawberry blond
- strayed ›
- streak ›
- streaky ›
- stream ›
- Stream Cipher ›
- stream of consciousness ›
- stream-oriented ›
- streambed ›
- streamer ›
- streaming ›

