FORAY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does foray mean? 

• FORAY (noun)
  The noun FORAY has 2 senses:

1. a sudden short attack

2. an initial attempt (especially outside your usual areas of competence)

  Familiarity information: FORAY used as a noun is rare.

• FORAY (verb)
  The verb FORAY has 2 senses:

1. steal goods; take as spoils

2. briefly enter enemy territory

  Familiarity information: FORAY used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FORAY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A sudden short attack

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

foray; maraud; raid

Hypernyms ("foray" is a kind of...):

incursion; penetration (an attack that penetrates into enemy territory)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "foray"):

air attack; air raid (an attack by armed planes on a surface target)

swoop (a very rapid raid)

Derivation:

foray (briefly enter enemy territory)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An initial attempt (especially outside your usual areas of competence)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

scientists' forays into politics

Hypernyms ("foray" is a kind of...):

attempt; effort; endeavor; endeavour; try (earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something)

• FORAY (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they foray    ... he / she / it forays   
Past simple: forayed   
Past participle: forayed   
-ing form: foraying   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Steal goods; take as spoils

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

despoil; foray; loot; pillage; plunder; ransack; reave; rifle; strip

Context example:

During the earthquake people looted the stores that were deserted by their owners

Hypernyms (to "foray" is one way to...):

take (take by force)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "foray"):

deplume; displume (strip of honors, possessions, or attributes)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Briefly enter enemy territory

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "foray" is one way to...):

penetrate; perforate (pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

foray (a sudden short attack)

 Context examples 

I surely have hunted and forayed and fought all the days of my life.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

John and Alleyne rode silent on either side, but every inn, farm-steading, or castle brought back to Aylward some remembrance of love, foray, or plunder, with which to beguile the way.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Born to be a hunter of meat (though he did not know it), he blundered upon meat just outside his own cave-door on his first foray into the world.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

I have seen Frenchmen fight both in open field, in the intaking and the defending of towns or castlewicks, in escalados, camisades, night forays, bushments, sallies, outfalls, and knightly spear-runnings.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

On either hand gray walls and square grim keeps peeped out at every few miles from amid the forests while the few villages which they passed were all ringed round with rude walls, which spoke of the constant fear and sudden foray of a wild frontier land.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Mon Dieu! yes, ye would not credit it to look at him, or to hearken to his soft voice, but from the sailing from Orwell down to the foray to Paris, and that is clear twenty years, there was not a skirmish, onfall, sally, bushment, escalado or battle, but Sir Nigel was in the heart of it.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)