strays

UK: /streɪz/

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

strays / streɪz/ noun:plural

1. Also called: stray capacitance undesired capacitance in equipment, occurring between the wiring, between the wiring and the chassis, or between components and the chassis
2. another word for static9

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

stray /streɪ/   v. [~ + from + object)]

1. to move away from the proper course, as by wandering:
   to stray from the main road.
2. to become distracted from one's topic or main thought;
   to digress:
   In your essay you are beginning to stray from the topic in this paragraph.

n. [countable]

3. a domestic animal found wandering or without an owner.
4. any homeless person or animal.

adj. [before a noun]

5. straying or having strayed:
   a stray cat.
6. found or occurring apart from others;
   incidental:
   a few stray hairs.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

stray  (strā), v.i. 

1. to deviate from the direct course, leave the proper place, or go beyond the proper limits, esp. without a fixed course or purpose;
   ramble:
   to stray from the main road.
2. to wander;
   roam:
   The new puppy strayed from room to room.
3. to go astray;
   deviate, as from a moral, religious, or philosophical course:
   to stray from the teachings of the church.
4. to digress or become distracted.

n. 

5. a domestic animal found wandering at large or without an owner.
6. any homeless or friendless person or animal.
7. a person or animal that strays:
   the strays of a flock.
8. Radio and Television strays, static.

adj. 

9. straying or having strayed, as a domestic animal.
10. found or occurring apart from others or as an isolated or casual instance;
    incidental or occasional.
11. Radio and Television undesired:
    stray capacitance.

• Anglo-French stray, Middle French estrai, derivative of estraier
• Vulgar Latin * extrāvagāre to wander out of bounds (see extravagant); (noun, nominal) Middle English, in part derivative of the verb, verbal, in part
• Middle French estraier
• (verb, verbal) Middle English strayen, aphetic variant of astraien, estraien 1250–1300

stray′er, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. rove, range.
• 2. meander.
• 3. err.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

stray / streɪ/ verb (intransitive)

1. to wander away, as from the correct path or from a given area
2. to wander haphazardly
3. to digress from the point, lose concentration, etc
4. to deviate from certain moral standards

noun

1. a domestic animal, fowl, etc, that has wandered away from its place of keeping and is lost
2. (as modifier): stray dogs
3. a lost or homeless person, esp a child: waifs and strays
4. an isolated or random occurrence, specimen, etc, that is out of place or outside the usual pattern

adjective

1. scattered, random, or haphazard

Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French estraier, from Vulgar Latin estragāre (unattested), from Latin extrā- outside + vagāri to roam; see astray, extravagant, stravaig

ˈstrayer noun