stray

CEFRB1

/stɹeɪ/

verb · adjective · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To move away from the correct place or path.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Lost or separated from its owner or group.

Examples

  • He is, as it were, a stray sheep.

  • Stray dogs wander the steep narrow lanes of the old town.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
3
Citations
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. A person who is lost.

  2. An act of wandering off or going astray.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. Any domestic animal that lacks an enclosure, proper place, or company, but that instead wanders at large or is lost; an estray.

More examples

In context

  • The stray girl sobbed her name.

  • November 2 2014, Daniel Taylor, "Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United," guardian.co.uk It was a derby that left Manchester United a long way back in Manchester City’s wing-mirrors and, in the worst moments, straying danger...

  • catch a stray

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

If you blank from the path, you might get lost in the forest.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English stray, strey, from Anglo-Norman estray, stray, Old French estrai, from the verb (see below).