stray
- adjective
- /streɪ/
- I found Skeena last spring, a stray, matted puppy hunkered under Uncle Stan's steps.
- a stray dog
- a stray cat
It was looking out for the police, stray dogs up the road, all all over the place.
- It was looking out for the police, stray dogs up the road, all all over the place.
- You're like a stray dog in the back alley who's just pleading for food.
- It's like Slim Jims and stray cats and a little bit of Bush light that photo with me with the pineapple.
Examples
-
The shelter is full of stray animals looking for new homes.
-
It's better than a stray dog, huh?
-
It's just a stray dog, lady.
-
After that, of course, I followed him around like a stray dog.
-
There weren't many stray dogs left these days; it was a pleasure to see one.
Fiction book (1991) -
During this period, Old Yeller, a stray dog, adopts the family as his own.
Academic text (1994) -
She took pity on the stray cat that was wandering through her yard.
-
After weeks of searching, they finally adopted a friendly stray dog from the local rescue.
Synonyms
Moving from place to place without a fixed home
Lost after moving away from the path or home where it should be
Moving from place to place rather than living in one place
Antonyms
Compounds
How Domestic
Surface Forms
Etymology
Stray as an adjective also comes from the old idea of 'wandering', and it describes an animal that has no home because it has gone away from where it belongs.