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
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
Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2025
The route ambles between mossy rainforest and sandy stretches, where black bears forage and orcas and gray whales breach offshore.
—Outside Online, 12 Mar. 2025
Rhiannon Saegert, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2025
If your garden consists entirely of fruit trees, however, then chickens could roam free and forage for the larvae of those bothersome fig beetles, which have become an increasingly annoying pest in recent years.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 29 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for forage
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Noun
The thick mats provide shade and shelter for small fish and forage items, and large fish like dolphin flock to them to feast.
—Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2025
The route ambles between mossy rainforest and sandy stretches, where black bears forage and orcas and gray whales breach offshore.
—Outside Online, 12 Mar. 2025
Verb
Where to forage for morels Most hunters keep their favorite foraging spots a secret, according to the Missouri Department on Conservation.
—Rhiannon Saegert, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2025
If your garden consists entirely of fruit trees, however, then chickens could roam free and forage for the larvae of those bothersome fig beetles, which have become an increasingly annoying pest in recent years.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 29 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for forage
Cite this Entry
“Forage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forage. Accessed 8 Apr. 2025.
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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