1. [n]  homeless cat
2. [adj]  not close together in time; "isolated instances of rebellion"; "scattered fire"; "a stray bullet grazed his thigh"
3. [v]  lose clarity or turn aside esp. from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking, or speaking; "She always digresses when telling a story"; "her mind wanders"; "Don't digress when you give a lecture"
4. [v]  move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment; "The gypsies roamed the woods"; "roving vagabonds"; "the wandering Jew"; "The cattle roam across the prairie"; "the laborers drift from one town to the next"
5. [v]  wander from a direct course or at random; "The child strayed from the path and her parents lost sight of her"; "don't drift from the set course"
6. [v]  wander from a direct or straight course

Stray
On her 75th birthday an old woman named Henrietta runs away from the nursing home where she has been living. Now a stray woman, she ends up at a seaside town where she meets the five children of the Good family. Will the Goods find a way to adopt Henrietta? Illustrated with b&w; drawings.

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1. \Stray\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Strayed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Straying}.] [OF. estraier, estraer, to stray, or as adj.,
   stray, fr. (assumed) L. stratarius roving the streets, fr. L.
   strata (sc. via) a paved road. See {Street}, and {Stray}, a.]
   1. To wander, as from a direct course; to deviate, or go out
      of the way.
            Thames among the wanton valleys strays. --Denham.
   2. To wander from company, or from the proper limits; to rove
      at large; to roam; to go astray.
            Now, until the break of day, Through this house each
            fairy stray.                          --Shak.
            A sheep doth very often stray.        --Shak.
   3. Figuratively, to wander from the path of duty or
      rectitude; to err.
            We have erred and strayed from thy ways. --??? of
                                                  Com. Prayer.
            While meaner things, whom instinct leads, Are rarely
            known to stray.                       --Cowper.
   Syn: To deviate; err; swerve; rove; roam; wander.
   

2. \Stray\, v. t.
   To cause to stray. [Obs.] --Shak.
   

3. \Stray\, a. [Cf. OF. estrai['e], p. p. of estraier. See
   {Stray}, v. i., and cf. {Astray}, {Estray}.]
   Having gone astray; strayed; wandering; as, a strayhorse or
   sheep.
   {Stray line} (Naut.), that portion of the log line which is
      veered from the reel to allow the chip to get clear of the
      stern eddies before the glass is turned.
   {Stray mark} (Naut.), the mark indicating the end of the
      stray line.
   

4. \Stray\, n.
   1. Any domestic animal that has an inclosure, or its proper
      place and company, and wanders at large, or is lost; an
      estray. Used also figuratively.
            Seeing him wander about, I took him up for a stray.
                                                  --Dryden.
   2. The act of wandering or going astray. [R.] --Shak.