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
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
Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Police are asking residents to call 305-474-6473 to report sightings of stray or aggressive dogs.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 12 Sep. 2025
Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Alex Consani Alex Consani didn’t stray too far from her day-to-day beauty aesthetic.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 19 Sep. 2025
Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
It is activated when a cell signals the presence of stray DNA in its cytoplasm and releases a sensor protein called cGAS.
—New Atlas, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stray
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Noun
Caiman was found wandering as a stray and suffering from demodectic mange, a skin infection that left him hairless and pink.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Police are asking residents to call 305-474-6473 to report sightings of stray or aggressive dogs.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
Frampton is adored in Irish boxing circles as a gritty fighter who claimed belts in two divisions without ever straying far from his working-class roots.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Alex Consani Alex Consani didn’t stray too far from her day-to-day beauty aesthetic.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
Stay away from wildlife and stray animals, and make sure your pets do as well.
—Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
It is activated when a cell signals the presence of stray DNA in its cytoplasm and releases a sensor protein called cGAS.
—New Atlas, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stray
Cite this Entry
“Stray.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stray. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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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