stray

/stɹeɪ/

//stɹeɪ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"stray" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stray” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,614. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,614
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any domestic animal that lacks an enclosure, proper place, or company, but that instead wanders at large or is lost; an estray.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stray · stray · English

stray · rank #10,614 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,614
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH storyline

Nearest frequency peer: storyline (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “stray”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “stray” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

stray vs sway
60% similar
stray vs sura
60% similar
stray vs study
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for stray
PropertyValue
Headwordstray
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/stɹeɪ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#10,614
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “stray”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).straylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “storyline” (#10,613), “stud” (#10,615), “Sofia” (#10,612). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stray” is #10,614. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around stray (IPA /stɹeɪ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,614 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for stray, with forms such as "srtay", "sstray", and "stary". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "sway", "sura", "study", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English stray, strey, from Anglo-Norman estray, stray, Old French estrai, from the verb (see below). The correct English form is stray, spelled S-T-R-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any domestic animal that lacks an enclosure, proper place, or company, but that instead wanders at large or is lost; an estray.
  2. 2
    A person who is lost.
  3. 3
    An act of wandering off or going astray.
  4. 4
    An area of common land for use by domestic animals.
  5. 5
    An article of movable property, of which the owner is not known (see waif).
  6. 6
    An instance of atmospheric interference.
  7. 7
    A casual or offhand insult.
  8. 8
    A submissive that has not committed to submit to any particular dominant, particulary in petplay.
  9. 9
    Ellipsis of stray bullet.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how stray appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. But vvhat a vvretched, and diſconſolate Hermitage is that Houſe, vvhich is not viſited by thee [God], and vvhat a VVayue, and Stray is that Man, that hath not thy Markes vpon him?
  2. waifs and strays

Etymology

From Middle English stray, strey, from Anglo-Norman estray, stray, Old French estrai, from the verb (see below).

This word in other languages

extravío(Español)errance(Français)Streuner(Deutsch)desgarrado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • srtay
  • sstray
  • stary
  • strayy
  • strray
  • strya
  • sttray
  • tsray

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stray - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

srtay2sstray1stary2strayy1strray1strya2sttray1tsray2
Edit distance from "stray"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "stray"?
"stray" is spelled S-T-R-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /stɹeɪ/.
What does "stray" mean?
As a noun, "stray" means: Any domestic animal that lacks an enclosure, proper place, or company, but that instead wanders at large or is lost; an estray.
What words are commonly confused with "stray"?
"stray" is commonly confused with "sway", "sura", "study". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stray"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stray" is /stɹeɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "stray"?
From Middle English stray, strey, from Anglo-Norman estray, stray, Old French estrai, from the verb (see below). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "stray", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Sofia#10,612skate#10,611serum#10,609tempo#10,621

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

salty8 variantstorch8 variantsviolin8 variantspalette8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list