forage

noun

for·age | \ ˈfȯr-ij

, ˈfär-\

Definition of forage

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : food for animals especially when taken by browsing or grazing The grass serves as forage for livestock.

2 [ ²forage ] : the act of foraging : search for provisions They made forages to find food.

forage

verb

foraged; foraging

Definition of forage (Entry 2 of 2)

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

Other Words from forage Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about forage

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Synonyms for forage

Synonyms: Verb

browse, graze, pasture, rustle

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: Noun

Some areas where homes are close to parks or forests, such as Aberdeen in Hong Kong Island’s south, have become popular spots for growing numbers of boars to forage for food amid the garbage cans. — Alice Fung, The Seattle Times, "In year of the pig, Hong Kong has had enough of wild ones," 6 Feb. 2019 In this photo taken on Friday March 16, 2018 a pangolin from the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital is held by a carer before being taken to the field to forage for food, near Johannesburg. — Washington Post, "In South Africa, plans for a refuge for pangolins in peril," 16 June 2018 Marine scientists used a five-person submersible to learn more about the sand lance, a forage fish that is a staple of the chinook salmon diet. — Katherine Long, The Seattle Times, "In a five-person submarine, scientists in Friday Harbor unravel the mysteries of the Salish Sea," 16 Sep. 2018 And the number of twin fawns born after a forage-poor winter and spring often falls to almost zero. — Shannon Tompkins, Houston Chronicle, "Texas summer a key factor in wildlife cycle," 17 May 2018 In addition to eating grains, these hens forage for plants and insects. Brown eggs are from hens with red feathers and red ear lobes. — Darlene Zimmerman, Detroit Free Press, "Eggs: What you need to know about size, color and type," 22 Apr. 2018 But the eggs being served at Frenchette, Flora Bar, and other portents of the Age of Egg are pastured eggs: eggs from chickens that still forage and peck and lay less frequently. — Tamar Adler, Vogue, "Why Pastured Eggs Are the Perfect Food," 13 Sep. 2018 The pasture, rangeland and forage program is a hedge against drought. — Alex Leary, WSJ, "As Ranchers Face Drought, Trump Administration Cuts Back a Critical Program," 19 Oct. 2018 In areas where tribes hunted deer and elk, fire created a mat of forage plants on the forest floor, a favorite food for the ungulates. — Kate Wiliams, The Seattle Times, "Controlled burns in OR: Can more fires create less smoke?," 15 Oct. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Back In 2003, on a whim, Steve Selin joined a group of his neighbors in the Finger Lakes region of New York to forage wild apples to press into hard cider. — Elizabeth G. Dunn, WSJ, "These Apple Ciders Are Wild—Literally," 17 Jan. 2019 While neonicotinoids seem to hamper bees’ ability to forage, indirectly affecting the health of the colony, the study on sulfoxaflor didn’t seem to show the same problem with foraging. — Cathleen O'grady, Ars Technica, "There’s a new insecticide on the block, and it’s also bad news for bees," 19 Aug. 2018 A few weeks later, a relative of the highest-ranking Buddhist in Chut Pyin disappeared while foraging in the mountains. — Niharika Mandhana, WSJ, "‘We’ll Turn Your Village Into Soil’: Survivors Recount One of Myanmar’s Biggest Massacres," 11 May 2018 Drive about 20 minutes north to Schlossberg, where chef Jörg Sackmann composes tasting menus inspired by foraging in the local woods. — Laura Giannatempo, Condé Nast Traveler, "A Weekend Road Trip to the Black Forest," 27 June 2018 Our host goes on to explain the painstaking process by which foraged ingredients are used to saturate fabrics with color. — Todd Plummer, Vogue, "Gigi Burris Finds Muses, Monkeys, and Major Inspiration in Panama," 19 July 2018 Hana, a young Canadian nurse, stays on devotedly, supplying him with morphine and foraged food. — New York Times, "Notes From the Book Review Archives," 8 June 2018 During breeding and chick-rearing on land, when foraging opportunities are restricted, Fiordlands, like other penguins, can lose 50 percent of their body mass. — Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, "20 Things You Didn't Know About ... Penguins," 6 Nov. 2018 Until then, blueberries were a wild thing, an indigenous American fruit foraged like ramps or morels. — Rachel Wharton, New York Times, "In the Shadow of the Blueberry Titans, Smaller Growers Thrive," 2 July 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.