Library / English Dictionary

FORAGE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of searching for food and provisions

Synonyms:

forage; foraging

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("forage" is a kind of...):

hunt; hunting; search (the activity of looking thoroughly in order to find something or someone)

Derivation:

forage (collect or look around for (food))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Bulky food like grass or hay for browsing or grazing horses or cattle

Synonyms:

eatage; forage; grass; pasturage; pasture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("forage" is a kind of...):

fodder (coarse food (especially for livestock) composed of entire plants or the leaves and stalks of a cereal crop)

Derivation:

forage (wander and feed)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Wander and feed

Example:

The animals forage in the woods

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Hypernyms (to "forage" is one way to...):

eat; feed (take in food; used of animals only)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "forage"):

predate; prey; raven (prey on or hunt for)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Sentence example:

The animals forage

Derivation:

forage (bulky food like grass or hay for browsing or grazing horses or cattle)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Collect or look around for (food)

Synonyms:

forage; scrounge

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "forage" is one way to...):

hunt; hunt down; run; track down (pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "forage"):

rustle (forage food)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

forage; foraging (the act of searching for food and provisions)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Great tits – a close relation of North America’s chickadee – make a good study species as they are generalist insectivores that forage in flocks, and are known to spread other forms of information through observation.

(Birds learn from each other’s ‘disgust’, enabling insects to evolve bright colours, University of Cambridge)

He had to forage for himself, and he foraged well, though he was oft-times a plague to the squaws in consequence.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

The researchers modeled the effects of biodiversity by analyzing wave strength in conjunction with the foraging abilities of various fish.

(Galapagos sea life study highlights importance of biodiversity in the face of climate change, National Science Foundation)

Mutualisms are crucial everywhere in nature, but to our knowledge, the only comparable foraging partnership between wild animals and our own species involves free-living dolphins who chase schools of mullet into fishermen’s nets and in so doing manage to catch more for themselves.

(How humans and wild Honeyguide birds call each other to help, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

No fault, my fair lord, but a virtue: for how many rich ransoms have you won, and yet have scattered the crowns among page and archer and varlet, until in a week you had not as much as would buy food and forage.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In this village, after the custom of all dogs in all villages, White Fang went foraging, for food.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

He knew the law of forage.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Thus, in the early morning, instead of roaming and foraging, or lying in a sheltered nook, he would wait for hours on the cheerless cabin-stoop for a sight of the god's face.

(White Fang, by Jack London)