strayed

verb

past tense of stray
as in trespassed
to commit an offense our straying son swears he's returned to the straight and narrow

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of strayed And in May, residents in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius were told to seek shelter after a drone strayed into Lithuanian airspace. — Emma Burrows, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026 During the aerial barrages, drones have repeatedly strayed into neighboring countries, unnerving leaders who are wary of Russia and fear being dragged into conflict. — ABC News, 21 Sep. 2026 One Tuesday morning last May, a sweet bull terrier strayed into our yard. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 17 Sep. 2026 Hundreds of high school athletes from around Chicago strayed away from a classic media day to put self-care and saving lives in the spotlight. — Cbs Chicago Team, CBS News, 7 Sep. 2026 There is now a new column in Ukrainian politics that is young, has experience of power and reform, and seeks to constantly remind Ukraine that its president has strayed outside of his original electoral mandate. — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026 Shoes are way too clunky and be-socked feet on a bus are just asking to encounter a plug that’s strayed from a bunk while going round a corner. — Lily Moayeri, SPIN, 19 Aug. 2026 The ongoing war in Ukraine, following the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, has led to multiple incidents in which drones either accidentally or intentionally strayed across the borders of European countries such as Romania. — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 11 Aug. 2026 Ultimately, the group strayed too close to the slopes of Perry’s Peak and was caught after a large avalanche released nearly 400 feet above them. — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strayed
  1. trespassed
  2. fell
  3. wandered
Verb
  • The incident follows years of legal disputes over the pipeline, including a court ruling that Enbridge trespassed on tribal land.
    — Laura Schulte, jsonline.com, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Since then, no one has been cited, trespassed or arrested for bringing weapons into the park, city and police officials told the Orlando Sentinel.
    — Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 July 2026
Definition of trespassed
Verb
  • Griess, the superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, said the 430 trees that were felled were not identified as hazardous or raising safety concerns.
    — Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Yet trees that took a millennium to grow can be felled in under an hour.
    — Annika Hammerschlag, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of fell
Verb
  • Five burros were killed and a driver was injured when a herd wandered onto the 215 Freeway in 2020.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
  • At one point, McLoughlin even snubbed Sylvester Stallone, another Kennedy Center Honoree who had wandered into the bar.
    — Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of wandered

Browse Nearby Words

stray
strayed
strayed (into)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Strayed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strayed. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All