foray

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.

Synonyms of foray

• invade
• raid
• attack

Examples of foray in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, skinny jeans are trending again, and this under-$20 pair is the perfect pick to foray into the hot spring silhouette. —Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 30 May 2026

After the 2004 season ended, Cooper forayed back into the NBA with the Denver Nuggets as an assistant in 2004 and as their interim head coach for a portion of the 2004-05 season. —Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2026

The reality television show that made the family a household name has been off the air for over a decade, but the family managed to foray the cancellation of the original series into TLC spin-offs, brand deals, and social media fame. —Tiana Lowe Doescher, The Washington Examiner, 20 Mar. 2026

While the late Karl Lagerfield had a selection of male muses (Brad Kroenig and Baptiste Giabiconi walked his runways), an official foray into the menswear space never came to fruition. —Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 11 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

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

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for foray

• signore

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Kids Definition

foray

verb

for·​ay

ˈfȯr-ˌā

: to raid especially in order to steal : pillage

foray noun