stray
stray Lexical Profile
stray Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Not in the right place; separated from the group or target, or having no home (especially of a domestic animal).
"The local shelter takes in dozens of stray cats and dogs every month."
Occurring, found, or appearing at irregular intervals or in isolated instances; random or scattered.
"She brushed a few stray hairs away from her forehead before the photograph was taken."
• verb
To move away aimlessly from a group or from the right course or place.
"Hikers are advised not to stray from the marked mountain trails."
To shift away from a central subject or focus (of a person's eyes, thoughts, or conversation).
"His mind began to stray during the lengthy afternoon lecture."
To depart from accepted moral standards, rules, or faithfulness.
"The committee promised never to stray from its founding principles of transparency."
• noun
A domestic animal that is lost, homeless, or has wandered away from its owner.
"They adopted a friendly stray that had been sleeping on their front porch."
• Rhymes for stray
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Anglo-Norman estraier ('to wander about'), a shortened form of Old French estraier, which derives from Vulgar Latin *extravagare ('to wander outside or beyond bounds').