1
: food for animals especially when taken by browsing or grazing
The grass serves as forage for livestock.
2
[forage entry 2]
: the act of foraging : search for provisions
They made forages to find food.
foraged; foraging
1
: to strip of provisions : collect forage from
2
: to secure by foraging
foraged a chicken for the feast
1
: to wander in search of forage or food
2
: to secure forage (as for horses) by stripping the country
4
: to make a search : rummage
forager
noun
Synonyms
Examples of forage in a Sentence
Noun
The grass serves as forage for livestock.
Verb
The cows were foraging in the pasture.
He had to forage for firewood.
Recent Examples on the Web
Andreas Kluth, The Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2024
The smaller Thomson’s gazelles follow in the wake of larger herbivores to gain access to high quality forage.
—T. Michael Anderson, Discover Magazine, 6 Apr. 2024
Sunday, April 7 Morel Walk and Talk, 10 a.m. at Yellowwood State Forest: The Indiana Forest Alliance and Sustainable in Suburbia are hosting a free hike exploring the forest and learning how to identify fungi and forage for morels.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Apr. 2024
Fishing styles vary based on location, time of year, forage, and experience level.
—Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 3 Apr. 2024
The social order determines things like how conflicts are resolved and also how far an individual has to travel to forage–higher status animals have priority to closer food sources, while low-status hyenas have to commute longer distances.
—Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 28 Mar. 2024
The transients that forage in the Northern Pacific Ocean can also be further divided into two groups.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 20 Mar. 2024
Exiled islanders returned to fish, forage and visit sacred sites as their ancestors did for thousands of years.
—Carina Del Valle Schorske, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
This results in high river plume pushing into the Gulf and nudging the tuna farther offshore, where salinity levels remain favorable for predators and forage.
—David A. Brown, Field & Stream, 7 Mar. 2024
Bilal Shbair, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024
To create the massive structure, developers foraged the country for old barn wood.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Malaysian chefs who left for fine-dining restaurants abroad are returning to set up shop in Sarawak, venturing into the forests to forage for rare jungle produce such as the flowers of wild-growing durian trees, which bloom sometimes for less than a week.
—Rebecca Tan, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
According to McInnes, both foraging behaviors appear to be unique to these whales from the other transient groups that hunt in shallow water.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 20 Mar. 2024
Share [Findings] Onshore wind turbines severely deter German bats from foraging.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
After the eclipse, the birds went right back to foraging and flying, Mekonen wrote.
—Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 25 Mar. 2024
In the north, people are forced to forage for wild plants during the day to break their fast at night.
—NBC News, 16 Mar. 2024
White Pine Wilderness Academy The White Pine Wilderness Academy offers day camp options for two weeks in the summer where kids ages 4-17 can experience activities like fire-making, wood splitting, plant ID, foraging, crafting, scouting, tracking, and storytelling.
—Caroline Beck, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Mar. 2024
Noun
Desperate to find food for their children, the women go into the fields to forage, only to be raped, to come home and then to return to the same fields the next day.
—Andreas Kluth, The Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2024
The smaller Thomson’s gazelles follow in the wake of larger herbivores to gain access to high quality forage.
—T. Michael Anderson, Discover Magazine, 6 Apr. 2024
Sunday, April 7 Morel Walk and Talk, 10 a.m. at Yellowwood State Forest: The Indiana Forest Alliance and Sustainable in Suburbia are hosting a free hike exploring the forest and learning how to identify fungi and forage for morels.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Apr. 2024
Fishing styles vary based on location, time of year, forage, and experience level.
—Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 3 Apr. 2024
The social order determines things like how conflicts are resolved and also how far an individual has to travel to forage–higher status animals have priority to closer food sources, while low-status hyenas have to commute longer distances.
—Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 28 Mar. 2024
The transients that forage in the Northern Pacific Ocean can also be further divided into two groups.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 20 Mar. 2024
Exiled islanders returned to fish, forage and visit sacred sites as their ancestors did for thousands of years.
—Carina Del Valle Schorske, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
This results in high river plume pushing into the Gulf and nudging the tuna farther offshore, where salinity levels remain favorable for predators and forage.
—David A. Brown, Field & Stream, 7 Mar. 2024
Verb
For many generations, the people of the Holy Land have foraged for khobeza, a hearty green with a taste and texture somewhere between spinach and kale that sprouts in knee-high thickets along roadsides and empty patches of dirt after the first winter rains.
—Bilal Shbair, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024
To create the massive structure, developers foraged the country for old barn wood.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Malaysian chefs who left for fine-dining restaurants abroad are returning to set up shop in Sarawak, venturing into the forests to forage for rare jungle produce such as the flowers of wild-growing durian trees, which bloom sometimes for less than a week.
—Rebecca Tan, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
According to McInnes, both foraging behaviors appear to be unique to these whales from the other transient groups that hunt in shallow water.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 20 Mar. 2024
Share [Findings] Onshore wind turbines severely deter German bats from foraging.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
After the eclipse, the birds went right back to foraging and flying, Mekonen wrote.
—Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 25 Mar. 2024
In the north, people are forced to forage for wild plants during the day to break their fast at night.
—NBC News, 16 Mar. 2024
White Pine Wilderness Academy The White Pine Wilderness Academy offers day camp options for two weeks in the summer where kids ages 4-17 can experience activities like fire-making, wood splitting, plant ID, foraging, crafting, scouting, tracking, and storytelling.
—Caroline Beck, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'forage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near forage
Cite this Entry
“Forage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forage. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
forage
1 of 2 noun
for·age
ˈfȯr-ij 
ˈfär-
1
: food (as pasture) for browsing or grazing animals
2
: a search for food or supplies
forage
2 of 2 verb
foraged; foraging
2
: to make a search especially for food or supplies
forage for grain
forage for firewood
3
: to get by foraging
forager
noun
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