stray: Meaning and Definition of

stray

Pronunciation: (strā), [key]
— 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. 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. undesired: stray capacitance.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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