stray

[strey]

verb (used without object)

1. to deviate from the direct course, leave the proper place, or go beyond the proper limits, especially without a fixed course or purpose.

   to stray from the main road.

   Synonyms: range, rove

2. to wander; roam.

   I strayed through the maze of the forest.

   Synonyms: meander, drift

3. to go astray; deviate, as from a moral, religious, or philosophical course.

   to stray from the teachings of the church.

   Synonyms: err

4. to digress or become distracted.

   to stray from the main topic.

noun

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

   The humane society traps strays, spays or neuters them, and returns them to the feral colony in which they were found.

2. any person or animal who is homeless or friendless.

   For a popular girl, she has the oddest misfit friends—her mom says she just can’t help but collect strays.

3. a person or animal that strays.

   the strays of a flock.

4. Radio.,  strays, static.

adjective

1. straying or having strayed, as a domestic animal.

2. found or occurring apart from others or as an isolated or casual instance; incidental or occasional.

3. Radio.,  undesired.

   stray capacitance.

stray

/ streɪ /

verb

1. to wander away, as from the correct path or from a given area

2. to wander haphazardly

3. to digress from the point, lose concentration, etc

4. to deviate from certain moral standards

noun

1. 1. a domestic animal, fowl, etc, that has wandered away from its place of keeping and is lost

   2. ( as modifier )

      stray dogs

2. a lost or homeless person, esp a child

   waifs and strays

3. an isolated or random occurrence, specimen, etc, that is out of place or outside the usual pattern

adjective

1. scattered, random, or haphazard

   a stray bullet grazed his thigh

Other Word Forms

• strayer noun
• unstraying adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stray¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb straien, strayen, from Old French estraier, from unrecorded Vulgar Latin extrāvagāre “to wander out of bounds”; extravagant

Word History and Origins

Origin of stray¹

C14: from Old French estraier, from Vulgar Latin estragāre (unattested), from Latin extrā- outside + vagāri to roam; see _astray , _extravagant , _stravaig

Example Sentences

Days after an order by India's top court brought the issue of stray dogs in Delhi into the spotlight, tensions have risen in the city.

From BBC

This was not a case of a president inadvertently having a stray classified document at home because he was working on his memoirs.

From Salon

And his political views were easy to figure out: Halimi had made numerous media appearances as one of the Taliban’s more ardent critics, accusing them of straying from Islam’s true principles.

From Salon

India's Supreme Court has modified its previous order asking authorities in Delhi and its suburbs to move all stray dogs into shelters amid widespread protests by animal welfare groups.

From BBC

What’s more, “New Heights” is a controlled environment where Swift can manage the questions, framing and larger narrative to ensure nothing strays from the story she’s built, something that’s not always possible in traditional interviews.

From Salon

Related Words

• deviate 
• drift 
• err 
• meander 
• roam 
• swerve