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stray - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'stray' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Stray [ a.]
- To wander, as from a direct course; to deviate, or go out of the way.
- To wander from company, or from the proper limits; to rove at large; to roam; to go astray.
- Figuratively, to wander from the path of duty or rectitude; to err.
2 . Stray [ n.]
- Any domestic animal that has an inclosure, or its proper place and company, and wanders at large, or is lost; an estray. Used also figuratively.
- The act of wandering or going astray.
3 . Stray [ v. i.]
- Having gone astray; strayed; wandering; as, a strayhorse or sheep.
4 . Stray [ v. t.]
- To cause to stray.

Meaning of 'stray' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . stray [ v]
Meaning (1):
- lose clarity or turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking, or speaking
Example in sentence:
  • Don't digress when you give a lecture;
  • her mind wanders;
  • She always digresses when telling a story
Meaning (2):
- wander from a direct course or at random
Example in sentence:
  • don't drift from the set course;
  • The child strayed from the path and her parents lost sight of her
Meaning (3):
- move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
Example in sentence:
  • roving vagabonds;
  • The cattle roam across the prairie;
  • The gypsies roamed the woods;
  • the laborers drift from one town to the next;
  • the wandering Jew;
  • They rolled from town to town
4 . stray [ s]
Meaning (4):
- not close together in time
Example in sentence:
  • a few stray crumbs;
  • isolated instances of rebellion
Meaning (5):
- (of an animal) having no home or having wandered away from home
Example in sentence:
  • a stray calf;
  • a stray dog

Nearby Words:

strabism strabismometer strabismus strabotomy straddle straddled straddling stradometrical straggle straggled

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