1
: food for animals especially when taken by browsing or grazing
The grass serves as forage for livestock.
2
[forage entry 2]
: the act of foraging : search for provisions
They made forages to find food.
foraged; foraging
1
: to strip of provisions : collect forage from
2
: to secure by foraging
foraged a chicken for the feast
1
: to wander in search of forage or food
2
: to secure forage (as for horses) by stripping the country
4
: to make a search : rummage
forager
noun
Synonyms
Examples of forage in a Sentence
Noun
The grass serves as forage for livestock.
Verb
The cows were foraging in the pasture.
He had to forage for firewood.
Recent Examples on the Web
Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 23 May 2024
Populations of fish that pelican forage, by all accounts, remain abundant off the Pacific coast.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 May 2024
Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 31 May 2024
The search for Anderson grew out of a grim discovery on April 16, 2022, when a man foraging for mushrooms in the woods in southern Indiana happened upon a brightly colored hard-shell suitcase.
—Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for forage 
Noun
These baits usually mimic a wide range of forage around a variety of cover throughout all water clarities.
—Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 23 May 2024
Populations of fish that pelican forage, by all accounts, remain abundant off the Pacific coast.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 May 2024
Verb
And watching animals forage for multiple food types in disparate environments would make for unclear comparisons.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 31 May 2024
The search for Anderson grew out of a grim discovery on April 16, 2022, when a man foraging for mushrooms in the woods in southern Indiana happened upon a brightly colored hard-shell suitcase.
—Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for forage
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'forage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near forage
Cite this Entry
“Forage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forage. Accessed 8 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
forage
1 of 2 noun
for·age
ˈfȯr-ij 
ˈfär-
1
: food (as pasture) for browsing or grazing animals
2
: a search for food or supplies
forage
2 of 2 verb
foraged; foraging
2
: to make a search especially for food or supplies
forage for grain
forage for firewood
3
: to get by foraging
forager
noun
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