WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
stray /streɪ/USA pronunciation   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]
  1. a domestic animal found wandering or without an owner.
  2. any homeless person or animal.

adj. [before a noun]
  1. straying or having strayed:a stray cat.
  2. found or occurring apart from others;
    incidental:a few stray hairs.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
stray  (strā),USA pronunciation 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. 
  1. a domestic animal found wandering at large or without an owner.
  2. any homeless or friendless person or animal.
  3. a person or animal that strays:the strays of a flock.
  4. Radio and Television strays, static.

adj. 
  1. straying or having strayed, as a domestic animal.
  2. found or occurring apart from others or as an isolated or casual instance;
    incidental or occasional.
  3. Radio and Televisionundesired: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
strayer, n. 
    • 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged rove, range.
    • 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged meander.
    • 3.See corresponding entry in Unabridged err.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
stray / streɪ/ (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
  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
  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, stravaigˈstrayer
'straying' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

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