foray

noun for·ay \ ˈfȯr-ˌā , ˈfär- also fȯ-ˈrā or fə-ˈrā \

|Updated on: 9 Aug 2018

Examples: foray in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of foray

plural forays

1 : a sudden or irregular invasion or attack for war or spoils : raid

a foray into enemy territory

attempted sneak and surprise forays
—D. 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

See foray defined for English-language learners

foray was our Word of the Day on 11/05/2008. Hear the podcast!

Examples of foray in a Sentence

a foray into enemy territory
We made a quick foray into town for some supplies.

Recent Examples of foray from the Web

That would mean the people restoring human spaceflight from U.S. soil won't be NASA astronauts at all, but the private executives and their customers who have become the new celebrities of America's foray into the cosmos.

— christian davenport, Houston Chronicle, "What does it mean to be a NASA astronaut in the celebrity space age of Elon Musk and Richard Branson?," 15 June 2018
Instead, the retail behemoth’s foray into the Big Apple will be an ecommerce fulfillment center in the Bronx leased by Jet.com, the online startup Walmart bought two years ago.

— sarah nassauer, WSJ, "Walmart to Enter New York City—Not With a Store, but an Ecommerce Center," 10 July 2018
Europe has assumed control, with only the occasional foray by Brazil or Argentina threatening its dominance.

— brian straus, SI.com, "The Factors and Figures Behind Europe's World Cup Dominance Trend," 8 July 2018
This successful foray into the legal world inspired Markison to go to law school.

— georgann yara, azcentral, "Athalonz's Tim Markison helping make sports 'healthy for the future'," 28 June 2018
Earlier forays this week turned up shoes, bags, and hand- and foot-prints.

— eli meixler, Time, "International Experts from the U.S. and U.K. Join the Search for 12 Missing Thai Boys and Their Coach," 28 June 2018
By happenstance, the ruling came down as the Legislature considers still another foray into controlling what Californians may legally say.

— dan walters, SFChronicle.com, "Supreme Court voids California law, upholds free speech," 27 June 2018
Buzz60 A University of Notre Dame student group and four women have filed suit against the school and the Trump administration in the latest foray in the battle over insurance coverage for contraceptives.

— shari rudavsky, Indianapolis Star, "Notre Dame students sue school, Trump administration over birth control co-pay policy," 27 June 2018
The exhibits describe the ambitious-beyond-belief foray of American industry into the Alaska wilderness a century ago, as well as the empty quiet that followed after the mountains were abandoned during the Great Depression.

— tom kizzia, Anchorage Daily News, "Amid the ruins of the Kennecott mine, a quiet new look at a unique slice of history," 26 June 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of foray

see ²foray

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

foray Synonyms

Synonyms

descent, incursion, inroad, invasion, irruption, raid;

Related Words

pillage, plunder;

aggression, assault, offense (or offence), offensive, onset, onslaught, rush, siege, storm, strike;

charge, sally, sortie;

ambuscade, ambush, surprise (also surprize), trap;

air raid, blitz, blitzkrieg, bombardment;

counterassault, counterattack, counteroffensive, counterstrike;

Other Military Terms

bivouac, logistics, petard, salient, sally, supernumerary, tactical

foray

verb

Definition of foray

forayed; foraying; forays

transitive + intransitive

1 I : to make a raid or brief invasion

forayed into enemy territory

Nicaraguan troops were foraying along the frontier …
—George Russell

2 I : 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 T archaic : to ravage in search of spoils : pillage

—

forayer

noun, plural forayers

See foray defined for kids

Recent Examples of foray from the Web

The American Cancer Society partnership isn’t Lyft’s only foray into medical transportation.

— sy mukherjee, Fortune, "Lyft Is Offering Free Rides to Cancer Patients in Major U.S. Cities," 21 June 2018
There are plenty of his signature otaku flowers, but also forays into art history, including homages to the British master of angst Francis Bacon and the Edo-period Japanese painter Soga Shohaku.

— The New Yorker, "Takashi Murakami, Japan’s Answer to Andy Warhol," 18 May 2018
Romiguier is also on the hunt for similar genetic adaptations that have helped some ants foray into the ruthless world of slavemaking.

— erica tennenhouse, Science | AAAS, "How blood-red ants became slave snatchers," 11 Apr. 2018
Casper forayed into the pillow and sheets scene in 2016 to pretty great reviews.

— danielle fox, ELLE Decor, "Trend Alert: The Most High-Tech Comforters And Sheets To Keep You Cool, Chic, And Comfy," 16 Feb. 2018
The actress Olivia Wilde, spokeswoman and model for H&M’s forays into sustainable fashion, was there wearing a new dress from the line.

— alden wicker, Newsweek, "Fast Fashion Is Creating an Environmental Crisis," 1 Sep. 2016
Schmidt also occasionally forayed into writing for Hollywood, composing scores for a film called A Texas Romance and the 1972 film Bad Company.

— katie kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, "Harvey Schmidt, Composer of Longest-Running Musical in History, Dies at 88," 1 Mar. 2018
Stewart suggests that Locke’s forays into poetry and fiction were stunted by his inability to speak openly about his sexuality.

— michael p. jeffries, New York Times, "The Philosopher Who Believed That Art Was Key to Black Liberation," 22 Feb. 2018
Marissa Jaret Winokur Winokur, a Tony-award winning singer and actress best known for her star turn in Hairspray, first forayed in reality TV on season 6 of Dancing With the Stars.

— michelle profis, Country Living, "Here's Your First Look at the New Cast of 'Celebrity Big Brother'," 29 Jan. 2018

Did You Know?

Foray comes from Middle English forrayen and probably traces back to an Anglo-French word that meant "raider" or "forager." It's related to the word forage, which usually means "to wander in search of food or forage." A foray, in its earliest sense, was a raid for plunder. Relatively recently, foray began to take on a broader meaning. In a sense, a foray is still a trip into a foreign territory. These days, though, looting and plundering needn't be involved in a foray. When you take a foray, you dabble in an area, occupation, or pastime that's new to you.

Origin and Etymology of foray

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 3

See Words from the same year