foray

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

|Updated on: 14 Jun 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

The Nintendo Switch is only a year old, and with Sony and Microsoft's recent forays into high-end revisions of their consoles, there likely won’t be any exciting new wrinkles in the hardware scene.

— julie muncy, WIRED, "E3 Is Going to be a Weird One—But Don’t Hold Your Breath," 10 June 2018
But Petsas' foray could harm Maria Syms, who casts herself as a strong conservative.

— alison steinbach, azcentral, "Voters say their signatures were forged on Arizona Senate candidate's petitions," 8 June 2018
Ars Technica's experimental foray into Twitch live-streaming continues today with our second episode of Ars Frontlog.

— sam machkovech, Ars Technica, "Join us at 8:30pm ET today for live-streamed games ahead of E3 madness," 7 June 2018
As noted by Forbes, the store's foray into wine could make Walmart more competitive with fellow superstore Costco.

— janine puhak, Fox News, "Walmart's private wine label debuts with $11 bottles," 7 June 2018
Disney's foray into revisionist history is just about over.

— scott craven, USA TODAY, "Disneyland's 'Pirates' ride to reopen with new female pirate, without bride auction," 7 June 2018
Mattis's foray into the trade debate, and its impact on relations with China, comes one week before the upcoming summit with North Korea, which is driving much of the US relationship now with Asian allies.

— barbara starr, CNN, "Mattis wades into the political fray, at least on trade," 6 June 2018
Buy Now Louis Vuitton fragrance set For Louis Vuitton's first foray into the world of men's fragrances, the Parisian brand enlisted a master perfumer (Jacques Cavallier Belletrud) to whip up not one, but five original scents.

— matt sebra, GQ, "The 8 Things We're Obsessed with This June," 5 June 2018
This isn’t the Property Brothers hosts first foray into publishing.

— megan stein, PEOPLE.com, "Calling All Kids! Property Brothers' Drew and Jonathan Scott Are Writing a Children's Book," 5 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

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
René Pérez, Residente: Residente was the idea man behind most of Calle 13’s provocative videos, and just forayed into direction and production with his solo outing, Residente.

— leila cobo, Billboard, "Luis Fonsi, Carlos Vives and More: You Won't Believe What These Latin Stars Studied In College," 30 Aug. 2017

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