a ‧ stray /əˈstreɪ/ BrE AmE adverb
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: estraié 'wandering' , from estraier ; ⇨ ↑ stray 1 ]
1 . go astray
a) to be lost or stolen:
The letter had gone astray in the post.
b) if a plan or action goes astray, it goes wrong:
The best-laid plans can go astray.
2 . lead somebody astray
a) to encourage someone to do bad or illegal things that they would not normally do:
The older boys led him astray.
b) to make someone believe something that is not true:
It’s easy to be led astray by the reports in the papers.