Forage means to search for food, especially in the wild. When animals forage, they hunt for plants, seeds, insects, or other food sources in their environment. A squirrel forages for acorns in autumn, storing them for winter. Bears forage for berries, grubs, and fish. Even your family dog might forage through the grass looking for interesting things to eat.

People forage too. For thousands of years before farming was invented, humans survived by foraging for wild plants, nuts, and mushrooms. Today, some people still enjoy foraging as a hobby, searching forests for edible mushrooms or collecting wild berries. Professional chefs sometimes forage for special ingredients like ramps (a type of wild onion) or fiddlehead ferns to use in their restaurants.

The word suggests patient, careful searching rather than just grabbing what's right in front of you. You might forage through the refrigerator looking for snack options, or forage around in your backpack trying to find a lost pencil. When used this way, forage means searching hopefully through a collection of things, even if you're not sure exactly what you'll find.

As a noun, forage is food that animals can find and eat, like grass, leaves, or other plants.