I. stray 1 /streɪ/ BrE AmE verb [intransitive]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: estraier , from Vulgar Latin extragare , from Latin extra- 'outside' + vagari 'to wander' ]
1 . to move away from the place you should be
stray into/onto/from
Three of the soldiers strayed into enemy territory.
2 . to begin to deal with or think about a different subject from the main one, without intending to
stray into/onto/from
We’re straying into ethnic issues here.
This meeting is beginning to stray from the point.
3 . if your eyes stray, you begin to look at something else, usually without intending to
stray to/back/over etc
Her eyes strayed to the clock.
4 . to start doing something that is wrong or immoral, when usually you do not do this
II. stray 2 BrE AmE adjective [only before noun]
1 . a stray animal, such as a dog or cat, is lost or has no home
2 . accidentally separated from other things of the same kind:
One man was hit by a stray bullet and taken to hospital.
III. stray 3 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . an animal that is lost or has no home
2 . informal someone or something that has become separated from others of the same kind
⇨ waifs and strays at ↑ waif (2)