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
A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2024
The all-volunteer rescue, which adopts out about 250 cats and kittens each year, also offers TNR (trap, neuter, return) services, collecting strays to be neutered and vaccinated then released back to where they were found.
—Phaedra Trethan, USA TODAY, 31 Mar. 2024
With little professional experience, Mr. Camp feverishly came up with a script in one sitting — his first feature length film — in which an adorable stray dog would save two children from a kidnapping.
—Sopan Deb, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024
Even a single stray cloud can block the light and ruin the moment.
—Michael Levitt, NPR, 4 Mar. 2024
This system heads off the coast by the evening hours, leaving behind stray snowshowers for New England that could total three-to-six inches by Saturday morning.
—Edward Shaw, NBC News, 26 Jan. 2024
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
David V. Gioe, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
Its offerings also stray beyond Oregon, including an intense Sonoma Coast pinot noir and a fresh, complex Howell Mountain cabernet sauvignon in partnership with Salty Goats.
—Eric Asimov, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2024
Missiles heading for Ukraine have strayed into Polish airspace.
—Christian Edwards, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
Her mother-in-law and husband carried her on their shoulders, stumbling between tents in the pitch-black night, somehow managing to avoid shelling, airstrikes, and stray dogs.
—Ghada Abdulfattah, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Apr. 2024
Plot details haven’t been revealed, but Warner Bros. Motion Pictures president of production Jesse Ehrman teases that the story will advance the fantasy world without straying too far from what made the series a success.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 3 Apr. 2024
Drivers in western Colorado know to keep an eye out for deer and the occasional moose or elk that might stray onto the roadway.
—Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post, 2 Apr. 2024
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
Jeff A. Chamer, Charlotte Observer, 26 Apr. 2024
His military bungled its balloon intelligence-collection program, precipitating an unwanted crisis after a stray balloon floated over the continental United States for days in early 2023.
—Evan S. Medeiros, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
Clean up is the last step in the removal process, picking up any stray pieces of comb, sucking up any loose bees in a vacuum and cleaning any honey that may be inside the wall.
—Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2024
On the first day, the cubbies didn’t open; last month, a stray potato shut down Kernel’s production line.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 18 Apr. 2024
The notion of self-experimentation popped up mostly in obituaries describing the lives of such people, usually as stray sentences thrown into otherwise eulogizing articles with the literary equivalent of an affectionate chuckle over their strange hobbies.
—Rachel Lance, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024
The lens sometimes rubs the viewer’s nose in imperfection: Tom’s wrinkles, Marge’s stray hairs.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
Image In any other era, the idea of weighing in on the aesthetic qualities of sticks might have been left behind in the wilderness like stray bits of gorp.
—Steven Kurutz, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024
There is, however, still a somewhat gusty breeze at times and a stray shower chance.
—A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2024
Noun
Despite the occasional stray shower, the bulk of rain chances should wait until Tuesday night or Wednesday.
—A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2024
The all-volunteer rescue, which adopts out about 250 cats and kittens each year, also offers TNR (trap, neuter, return) services, collecting strays to be neutered and vaccinated then released back to where they were found.
—Phaedra Trethan, USA TODAY, 31 Mar. 2024
With little professional experience, Mr. Camp feverishly came up with a script in one sitting — his first feature length film — in which an adorable stray dog would save two children from a kidnapping.
—Sopan Deb, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024
Even a single stray cloud can block the light and ruin the moment.
—Michael Levitt, NPR, 4 Mar. 2024
This system heads off the coast by the evening hours, leaving behind stray snowshowers for New England that could total three-to-six inches by Saturday morning.
—Edward Shaw, NBC News, 26 Jan. 2024
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
Verb
Such was the case in 1983, when Soviet pilots shot down a South Korean commercial airliner that had strayed into Soviet airspace.
—David V. Gioe, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
Its offerings also stray beyond Oregon, including an intense Sonoma Coast pinot noir and a fresh, complex Howell Mountain cabernet sauvignon in partnership with Salty Goats.
—Eric Asimov, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2024
Missiles heading for Ukraine have strayed into Polish airspace.
—Christian Edwards, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
Her mother-in-law and husband carried her on their shoulders, stumbling between tents in the pitch-black night, somehow managing to avoid shelling, airstrikes, and stray dogs.
—Ghada Abdulfattah, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Apr. 2024
Plot details haven’t been revealed, but Warner Bros. Motion Pictures president of production Jesse Ehrman teases that the story will advance the fantasy world without straying too far from what made the series a success.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 3 Apr. 2024
Drivers in western Colorado know to keep an eye out for deer and the occasional moose or elk that might stray onto the roadway.
—Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post, 2 Apr. 2024
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
Adjective
Huch said Harbinson was generous with her time and energy as well as her home, taking in any person who needed a place to stay, or any stray animal that crossed her path.
—Jeff A. Chamer, Charlotte Observer, 26 Apr. 2024
His military bungled its balloon intelligence-collection program, precipitating an unwanted crisis after a stray balloon floated over the continental United States for days in early 2023.
—Evan S. Medeiros, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
Clean up is the last step in the removal process, picking up any stray pieces of comb, sucking up any loose bees in a vacuum and cleaning any honey that may be inside the wall.
—Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2024
On the first day, the cubbies didn’t open; last month, a stray potato shut down Kernel’s production line.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 18 Apr. 2024
The notion of self-experimentation popped up mostly in obituaries describing the lives of such people, usually as stray sentences thrown into otherwise eulogizing articles with the literary equivalent of an affectionate chuckle over their strange hobbies.
—Rachel Lance, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024
The lens sometimes rubs the viewer’s nose in imperfection: Tom’s wrinkles, Marge’s stray hairs.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
Image In any other era, the idea of weighing in on the aesthetic qualities of sticks might have been left behind in the wilderness like stray bits of gorp.
—Steven Kurutz, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024
There is, however, still a somewhat gusty breeze at times and a stray shower chance.
—A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 14 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 3 May. 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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