1
a
: a domestic animal that is wandering at large or is lost
b
: a person or thing that strays
2
[Middle English, from straien to stray] archaic
: the act of going astray
strayed; straying; strays
: wander: such as
a
: to wander from company, restraint, or proper limits
b
: to roam about without fixed direction or purpose
c
: to move in a winding course : meander
d
: to move without conscious or intentional effort
eyes straying absently around the room
e
: to become distracted from an argument or train of thought
strayed from the point
f
: to wander accidentally from a fixed or chosen route
strayer
noun
Synonyms
Examples of stray in a Sentence
Noun
Both of her cats were strays that she found wandering in the neighborhood.
Verb
The airplane strayed off course.
our straying son swears he's returned to the straight and narrow
Adjective
stray sightings of UFO's, none of which have been rigorously analyzed by scientists
Recent Examples on the Web
The Arizona Republic, 12 Apr. 2024
The Bradshaw Animal Shelter is looking for a home for two dog friends who were found together as strays in Sacramento County, California
Stanley, a small 7-year-old dog, and Arthur, a large 4-year-old canine, don't look like twins, but the two are inseparable.
—Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2024
Read Next National Blind dog came to shelter as a stray — and needs new home.
—Julia Daye, Sacramento Bee, 27 Mar. 2024
The story of the stalwart stray went viral, covered by news outlets around the world.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 16 Mar. 2024
Heffernan took him in as a stray a few weeks before the Camp Fire — the deadliest wildfire in the state’s history.
—Sydney Page, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
Arthur is a stray whose history of severe abuse and neglect is made evident through his wounds, behavior and veterinary counsel.
—Common Sense Media, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
Like his four-legged peers, Groot made it to the adoption floor after being recovered as a stray in Milwaukee on Feb. 20.
—Journal Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2024
The agency is a private shelter and not required to take in strays, which allows its population to remain within capacity.
—Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024
Craig Bruce Smith, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
Express forecast Today: Mix of clouds and sun, stray shower.
—Dan Stillman, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
If anyone was complaining last year that Rolex had strayed too far into the circus of color–that The Crown was just having too much fun flitting about—then this year proves that Rolex was always going to return to its quiet place at the center of the horological galaxy.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024
Bethesda's iconic action role-playing video game franchise never strayed far from the campiness and post-World War II era idealism that has come to define the series through multiple titles.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024
Don’t be fooled by the newbies’ inability to remember her name: Wiig never strays too far from Studio 8H.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 3 Apr. 2024
Boeing desperately needs a hard slap in the face to transform a mindset that’s strayed from the obsession with quality that made the planemaker great to a focus on speed and profits.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024
Celine, on the other hand, never strays from her palette of cerulean (very Devil Wears Prada), chocolate and funereal black.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Mar. 2024
Huston, in public appearances, has not strayed far from the wording of his original statement.
—Kayla Dwyer, The Indianapolis Star, 15 Mar. 2024
A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2024
Charlie cast that rogue vote against Nami’s Venus to avoid voting for a fellow Siga member and to avoid being eliminated in the event of a stray vote (had Moriah successfully used her Shot in the Dark or played an idol).
—Brian Anthony Hernandez, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2024
Bernard used a lot of warm, natural tones to make the rooms feel organic and location-appropriate: think baskets for light fixtures; thick sisal rugs, ideal for absorbing any stray specks of sand; and wooden coffee tables, organic like a piece of driftwood.
—Jacqui Gifford, Travel + Leisure, 9 Apr. 2024
Monday — the exact moment a partial solar eclipse peaked above San Diego — a stray cloud moved out of the way, revealing a sharp orange crescent sun set against skies as blue as robins’ eggs.
—Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2024
The New York City resident has taken Soda on dozens of flights to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Soda, now 4, was found as a stray puppy in 2021.
—Anne Marie Lee, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2024
Then, on March 28, a resident of Harper Woods, Michigan, living more than 2,300 miles away, called police about a stray dog in the neighborhood.
—Jay Croft, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
Over the past decade, auditoriums, toilets, and parking areas have been built in and around the temple, often at the expense of a stray tree or shrub, to maximize accessibility and ensure devotees’ comfort.
—Pragathi Ravi, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Mar. 2024
Separately, a chilling recent report in Sky News Arabia detailed how in the capital, Khartoum, protracted, grueling urban warfare has led to a spike in the migration of European vultures and a boom in the population of stray dogs, all drawn to the city’s carrion.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024
Noun
Mariah was picked up by an Arizona Humane Society Emergency Animal Medical Technician™ in March of this year after she was found as an injured stray.
—The Arizona Republic, 12 Apr. 2024
The Bradshaw Animal Shelter is looking for a home for two dog friends who were found together as strays in Sacramento County, California
Stanley, a small 7-year-old dog, and Arthur, a large 4-year-old canine, don't look like twins, but the two are inseparable.
—Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2024
Read Next National Blind dog came to shelter as a stray — and needs new home.
—Julia Daye, Sacramento Bee, 27 Mar. 2024
The story of the stalwart stray went viral, covered by news outlets around the world.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 16 Mar. 2024
Heffernan took him in as a stray a few weeks before the Camp Fire — the deadliest wildfire in the state’s history.
—Sydney Page, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
Arthur is a stray whose history of severe abuse and neglect is made evident through his wounds, behavior and veterinary counsel.
—Common Sense Media, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
Like his four-legged peers, Groot made it to the adoption floor after being recovered as a stray in Milwaukee on Feb. 20.
—Journal Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2024
The agency is a private shelter and not required to take in strays, which allows its population to remain within capacity.
—Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024
Verb
Van Patten admits his primary function was entertainment, and that’s where the story sometimes strays from reality.
—Craig Bruce Smith, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
Express forecast Today: Mix of clouds and sun, stray shower.
—Dan Stillman, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
If anyone was complaining last year that Rolex had strayed too far into the circus of color–that The Crown was just having too much fun flitting about—then this year proves that Rolex was always going to return to its quiet place at the center of the horological galaxy.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024
Bethesda's iconic action role-playing video game franchise never strayed far from the campiness and post-World War II era idealism that has come to define the series through multiple titles.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024
Don’t be fooled by the newbies’ inability to remember her name: Wiig never strays too far from Studio 8H.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 3 Apr. 2024
Boeing desperately needs a hard slap in the face to transform a mindset that’s strayed from the obsession with quality that made the planemaker great to a focus on speed and profits.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024
Celine, on the other hand, never strays from her palette of cerulean (very Devil Wears Prada), chocolate and funereal black.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Mar. 2024
Huston, in public appearances, has not strayed far from the wording of his original statement.
—Kayla Dwyer, The Indianapolis Star, 15 Mar. 2024
Adjective
There is, however, still a somewhat gusty breeze at times and a stray shower chance.
—A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2024
Charlie cast that rogue vote against Nami’s Venus to avoid voting for a fellow Siga member and to avoid being eliminated in the event of a stray vote (had Moriah successfully used her Shot in the Dark or played an idol).
—Brian Anthony Hernandez, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2024
Bernard used a lot of warm, natural tones to make the rooms feel organic and location-appropriate: think baskets for light fixtures; thick sisal rugs, ideal for absorbing any stray specks of sand; and wooden coffee tables, organic like a piece of driftwood.
—Jacqui Gifford, Travel + Leisure, 9 Apr. 2024
Monday — the exact moment a partial solar eclipse peaked above San Diego — a stray cloud moved out of the way, revealing a sharp orange crescent sun set against skies as blue as robins’ eggs.
—Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2024
The New York City resident has taken Soda on dozens of flights to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Soda, now 4, was found as a stray puppy in 2021.
—Anne Marie Lee, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2024
Then, on March 28, a resident of Harper Woods, Michigan, living more than 2,300 miles away, called police about a stray dog in the neighborhood.
—Jay Croft, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
Over the past decade, auditoriums, toilets, and parking areas have been built in and around the temple, often at the expense of a stray tree or shrub, to maximize accessibility and ensure devotees’ comfort.
—Pragathi Ravi, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Mar. 2024
Separately, a chilling recent report in Sky News Arabia detailed how in the capital, Khartoum, protracted, grueling urban warfare has led to a spike in the migration of European vultures and a boom in the population of stray dogs, all drawn to the city’s carrion.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stray.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near stray
Cite this Entry
“Stray.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stray. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
stray
1 of 3 noun1
: a domestic animal that is wandering loose or is lost
2
: a person or thing that strays
stray
2 of 3 verb1
: to wander from a group or from the proper place : roam
the dog strayed from the yard
2
: to wander from a fixed or chosen route or at random
accidentally strayed off the path
3
: to become distracted from an argument or chain of thought
strayed from the point
strayer
noun
stray
3 of 3 adjective1
: having strayed or been lost
a stray dog
2
: occurring in one place and another or at random
a few stray hairs
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