stray
verb
[ streɪ ]
• move away aimlessly from a group or from the right course or place.
• "dog owners are urged not to allow their dogs to stray"
Similar:
wander off,
go astray,
drift,
get separated,
get lost,
lose one's way,
digress,
deviate,
wander,
get sidetracked,
go off at a tangent,
get off the subject,
lose the thread,
divagate,
stray
adjective
• not in the right place; separated from the group or target.
• "he pushed a few stray hairs from her face"
Similar:
random,
chance,
accidental,
freak,
unexpected,
casual,
haphazard,
odd,
isolated,
lone,
single,
scattered,
occasional,
incidental,
• (of a physical quantity) arising as a consequence of the laws of physics, but unwanted and usually having a detrimental effect on the operation of equipment.
• "stray capacitance"
stray
noun
• a stray person or thing, especially a domestic animal.
• electrical phenomena interfering with radio reception.
Origin:
Middle English: shortening of Anglo-Norman French and Old French estrayer (verb), Anglo-Norman French strey (noun), partly from astray.
