foray

1 of 2

noun

for·​ay ˈfȯr-ˌā How to pronounce foray (audio)
ˈfär-,
 also  fȯ-ˈrā,
 or  fə-ˈrā
plural forays
1
: a sudden or irregular invasion or attack for war or spoils : raid
a foray into enemy territory
attempted sneak and surprise foraysD. D. Eisenhower
2
: an initial and often tentative attempt to do something in a new or different field or area of activity
the novelist's foray into nonfiction
Torres spearheaded his family's first foray into international wine production by purchasing land in Chile's Curicó Valley in 1979.Michael Schachner

foray

2 of 2

verb

forayed; foraying; forays
1
intransitive : to make a raid or brief invasion
forayed into enemy territory
Nicaraguan troops were foraying along the frontier …George Russell
2
intransitive : to do or attempt something outside one's accustomed sphere : to enter into a new or different field or area of activity
Tesla, known for its high-end electric cars, has forayed into the trucking industry with a Nov. 16 reveal of its latest prototype, the Tesla Semi.Meagan Nichols
3
transitive archaic : to ravage in search of spoils : pillage
forayer noun
plural forayers

Did you know?

For centuries, foray referred only to a sudden or irregular invasion or attack, but in the late 19th century it began to venture into gentler semantic territory. While the newer sense of foray still involves a trek into a foreign territory, the travel is figurative: when you make this kind of foray, you dabble in an area, occupation, or pastime that’s new to you. Take the particularly apt example (stay tuned) of mushroom hunting. The likely ancestor of foray is an Anglo-French word referring to the violent sort who do invasion forays, but that word could also refer to a forager—that is, one who wanders in search of food. (Forage has the same etymological source.) Interestingly, foray has seen a resurgence of use connected to its foraging roots, as evidenced by the growing popularity of mycophile-led mushroom “forays” that have been lately popping up like toadstools.

Examples of foray in a Sentence

Noun a foray into enemy territory We made a quick foray into town for some supplies.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Yet filing for bankruptcy is a maneuver Trump has used before — six times, when extricating himself from a tumultuous foray into the Atlantic City casino business decades ago. Josh Dawsey, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024 Be sure to prepare for your foray into nature by bringing lots of water, a water bowl, poop bags and a map or smartphone with GPS. Lisa Bloch, The Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2024 Indeed, the decision represents something of a second chance for the team’s former fifth-round draft pick, who stumbled through his first foray into the majors last year by posting a 14.40 ERA in his first three career outings. Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024 Disney and Universal offer families a foray into fantastical worlds to the tune of billions of dollars in revenue. Eva Rothenberg, CNN, 17 Mar. 2024 Only Apple and Amazon are expected to dramatically increase their production of non-sports content, given their forays into theatrical movies. Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2024 The goth-rock singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe continues recent forays into industrial music at Bowery Ballroom (March 13). The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2024 Departing momentarily from the familiar jazz stylings of the band Mr. Miss, Liu Lian ventures into the realm of self-expression as a solo artist, unveiling a profound understanding of self-love through forays into new musical genres like dream pop. Billboard China, Billboard, 6 Mar. 2024 In its brief foray on the continent, meanwhile, Prime Video is said to have put together a dedicated team who were committed to taking big, bold swings on its African creators. Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024
Verb
The Louis Vuitton and Dior-owner plans to foray into the entertainment industry worth billions of dollars in a venture called 22 Montaigne Entertainment, a nod to the address of LVMH’s Paris headquarters. Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 23 Feb. 2024 The meeting was Putin’s first public assessment of the conflict since Ukrainian forces took the war into Russian territory, with drone strikes on Moscow on May 1 and again on May 30 and shelling and forays across the border in the Belgorod region on May 22. Peter Rutland, Fortune, 20 June 2023 The streaming landscape is littered with shows assembled from recognizable spare parts, forays far more cynical than Flanagan’s affectionate odes to the literary masters of horror. Phillip MacIak, The New Republic, 11 Oct. 2023 In recent years, she’s made headlines for testing her chops in dramatic fare, forays into music, becoming a producer and prepping her directorial debut. Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Oct. 2023 Some pairs — like Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel —met prior to foraying into Shondaland, while others — like Kevin McKidd and Danielle Savre — had crossover storylines that turned into real-life love. Zoey Lyttle, Peoplemag, 14 July 2023 Rather, come for rich Polynesian cultural encounters and forays into lush rainforests to hike to thundering waterfalls. Terry Ward, Travel + Leisure, 10 July 2023 McDonald’s isn’t the only big name in the fast food space to have forayed into the wedding industry. Chloe Taylor, Fortune, 7 July 2023 Advertisement In the 1980s, MRF forayed into sports sponsorship, while extending its business to paints and toys. Mimansa Verma, Quartz, 14 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'foray.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English forrayen, from Anglo-French forreyer, foreer, probably back-formation from *forrier, *forreour forager, raider, from fuerre, foer provender — more at forage

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of foray was in the 14th century

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Dictionary Entries Near foray

Cite this Entry

“Foray.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foray. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

foray

verb
for·​ay
ˈfȯr-ˌā
: to raid especially in order to steal : pillage
foray noun

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