stray Hear it!

stray Definition

stray (strā)

intransitive verb

  1. to wander from a given place, limited area, direct course, etc., esp. aimlessly; roam; rove
  2. to go wrong; be in error; deviate (from what is right)
  3. to fail to concentrate; be inattentive or digress

Etymology: ME straien < OFr estraier < estrée, road, street < LL strata, street

noun

  1. a person or thing that strays; esp., a domestic animal wandering at large
  2. static interfering with radio reception

adjective

  1. having strayed or wandered; lost
  2. occurring alone or infrequently; isolated; incidental a few stray words

stray Related Forms

stray′er noun

stray Synonyms

stray

v.

rove, roam, swerve, go amiss, go astray, deviate; see also turn 3, walk 1.

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.