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” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,614 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#10,614
frequency rank, English
5
letters
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any domestic animal that lacks an enclosure, proper place, or company, but that instead wanders at large or is lost; an estray.

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)

Where “stray” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). stray lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for stray is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /stɹeɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,614 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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.

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.

Using “stray”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-T-R-A-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /stɹeɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “sway” - see the side-by-side comparison. stray vs sway
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list