forage

noun for·age \ ˈfȯr-ij , ˈfär- \

|Updated on: 17 Jul 2018

Examples: forage in a Sentence

Definition of forage

1 : food for animals especially when taken by browsing or grazing

The grass serves as forage for livestock.

[²forage]

: the act of foraging : search for provisions

They made forages to find food.

See forage defined for English-language learners

See forage defined for kids

Examples of forage in a Sentence

The grass serves as forage for livestock.

Recent Examples of forage from the Web

Gus was made to forage for meals, pulling chicken from a rawhide wrapper and coaxing a frozen mackerel out of a block of ice.

— david scharfenberg, BostonGlobe.com, "Did humans drive this polar bear insane?," 13 July 2018
Mothers forage for their own food, while fathers often bring food to the pups or watch over them while the mother is out.

— bradley j. fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "For the Fourth, bring out the (San Diego Zoo) babies!," 3 July 2018
Hawaiian bobtail squid sleep under the sand all day, coming out to forage at night.

— National Geographic, "Living Fireworks, These Animals Produce Light Shows with Their Bodies," 30 June 2018
In bumblebee colonies, sterile female offspring forage, bring in food for the nest, clean and help rear the brood.

— joanna klein, New York Times, "Bumblebees Thrive in the City but Struggle on the Farm," 27 June 2018
That emergent vegetation often hosts an abundant of aquatic snails, a preferred forage of redears.

— shannon tompkins, Houston Chronicle, "June spawn signals peak in Texas sunfish action," 3 June 2018
Many of London’s 140 bee species are struggling, says Ms Cotton, because of a loss of suitable forage in gardens and elsewhere.

— The Economist, "London’s rooftop gardens are a breath of fresh air," 28 June 2018
The unusual brown-and-white flecked seabird forages in the ocean but flies up to 55 miles inland to breed, laying a single egg in a mossy depression high in the forest canopy.

— gillian flaccus, The Seattle Times, "Oregon increases protections for marbled murrelet and the timber industry is not pleased," 10 Feb. 2018
Conducted each year in late summer and fall, the trawls provide critical information on year-class strength of game and nongame fish species and monitors trends in critical forage species as well as larger fish.

— paul a. smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Smith: Lake Poygan ice provides a warm greeting to anglers," 6 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'forage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of forage

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from fuerre, foer fodder, straw, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German fuotar food, fodder — more at food

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Animal Husbandry Terms

apiary, bantam, calico, girth, hogwash, mast, rut

forage

verb

Definition of forage

foraged; foraging

transitive verb

1 : to strip of provisions : collect forage from

2 : to secure by foraging

foraged a chicken for the feast

intransitive verb

1 : to wander in search of forage or food

2 : to secure forage (as for horses) by stripping the country

3 : ravage, raid

4 : to make a search : rummage

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forager

noun

See forage defined for English-language learners

Examples of forage in a Sentence

The cows were foraging in the pasture.
He had to forage for firewood.

Recent Examples of forage from the Web

Each cooker can cut the gathering of wood or cow-dung (still used in over half of all households, and mainly foraged by women) by up to an hour a day.

— The Economist, "Culture and the labour market keep India’s women at home," 5 July 2018
With the right mix of flowers and nesting habitat, nearly any patch of ground can be turned into a bee garden and provide everything small bees need to forage, nest and reproduce over the course of a season.

— thor hanson, WSJ, "The Plight of the Humble Bee," 29 June 2018
Chef Tamara Stanger’s menu at Helio Basin features indigenous ingredients that are locally sourced and foraged, often by her own hands.

— dominic armato, azcentral, "Chef Tamara Stanger to leave Helio Basin Brewing Co., join Cotton & Copper in south Tempe," 18 June 2018
Cant co-authored the new study showing that young mongooses learn to forage from these mentors, acquiring behaviors that will last a lifetime.

— liz langley, National Geographic, "Why Mongooses All Give Birth on the Same Day," 2 June 2018
Biologists are keeping an eye on the flamingo, since the birds usually don't travel alone and the beach provides poor foraging habitat.

— jenny staletovich, miamiherald, "Something besides nudists showed up at Haulover Beach: a rare flamingo," 16 May 2018
There were reports of bears foraging in garbage cans, breaking into cars to get at pet food, raiding outdoor freezers and killing farm chickens, pigs and goats, as well as destroying commercial honey bee hives.

— frank sargeant, AL.com, "Bama's bears on increase in northeast," 13 Jan. 2018
Large flocks foraged in the Keys and Florida Bay and could have numbered in the thousands but were almost wiped out by 1900 as they were hunted for food and for their plumes.

— howard cohen, miamiherald, "Now that we agree these flamingos are Florida natives, it's time to protect them, experts say," 22 June 2018
Organic ice cream, foraged produce, seafood, and natural wines will be served in an outdoor kitchen.

— melania hidalgo, The Cut, "Visit a Sustainability Fair at 99 Scott This Weekend," 25 Apr. 2018