What is the meaning of stray?

noun

  • An animal that has strayed (especially a domestic animal. )

verb

  • Move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment.
    • usage: "The gypsies roamed the woods"; "roving vagabonds"; "the wandering Jew"; "The cattle roam across the prairie"; "the laborers drift from one town to the next"; "They rolled from town to town"
  • Wander from a direct course or at random.
    • usage: "The child strayed from the path and her parents lost sight of her"; "don't drift from the set course"
  • Lose clarity or turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking, or speaking.
    • usage: "She always digresses when telling a story"; "her mind wanders"; "Don't digress when you give a lecture"

adjective

  • Not close together in time.
    • usage: "isolated instances of rebellion"; "a few stray crumbs"
  • Of an animal. ( having no home or having wandered away from home)
    • usage: "a stray calf"; "a stray dog"
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APAWordNet. (2010). stray. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/stray/definitions/1184520
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "stray" http://smartdefine.org/stray/definitions/1184520 (accessed September 20, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, stray, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/stray/definitions/1184520>.
MLAWordNet. "stray" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/stray/definitions/1184520>
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