STRAY
Dictionary entry overview: What does stray mean?
• STRAY (noun)
The noun STRAY has 1 sense:
1. homeless cat
Familiarity information: STRAY used as a noun is very rare.
• STRAY (adjective)
The adjective STRAY has 1 sense:
1. not close together in time
Familiarity information: STRAY used as an adjective is very rare.
• STRAY (verb)
The verb STRAY has 3 senses:
1. move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
2. wander from a direct course or at random
3. lose clarity or turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking, or speaking
Familiarity information: STRAY used as a verb is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
• STRAY (noun)
Meaning:
Homeless cat
Classified under:
Nouns denoting animals
Synonyms:
alley cat; stray
Hypernyms ("stray" is a kind of...):
domestic cat; Felis catus; Felis domesticus; house cat (any domesticated member of the genus Felis)
• STRAY (adjective)
Meaning:
Not close together in time
Synonyms:
isolated; stray
Context examples:
isolated instances of rebellion / a stray bullet grazed his thigh
Similar:
sporadic (recurring in scattered and irregular or unpredictable instances)
• STRAY (verb)
Meaning:
Move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Synonyms:
stray; rove; wander; roam; vagabond; range; swan; ramble; drift; tramp; cast; roll
Context examples:
The gypsies roamed the woods / roving vagabonds / the wandering Jew / The cattle roam across the prairie / the laborers drift from one town to the next / They rolled from town to town
Hypernyms (to "stray" is one way to...):
go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stray"):
maunder (wander aimlessly)
gad; gallivant; jazz around (wander aimlessly in search of pleasure)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP
Meaning:
Wander from a direct course or at random
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Synonyms:
drift; err; stray
Context examples:
The child strayed from the path and her parents lost sight of her / don't drift from the set course
Hypernyms (to "stray" is one way to...):
go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP
Meaning:
Lose clarity or turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking, or speaking
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Synonyms:
digress; divagate; stray; wander
Context examples:
She always digresses when telling a story / her mind wanders / Don't digress when you give a lecture
Hypernyms (to "stray" is one way to...):
tell (let something be known)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP
