astray
adv. placeadv. away from the right path or direction. You use this when someone gets lost or when a plan starts to fail.
adv. away from the correct path or intended course of action. Often used in figurative contexts to describe moral or intellectual deviation.
The hikers went astray in the thick fog.
The investigation went astray when the detectives focused on the wrong suspect for several weeks.
Even the most meticulously planned corporate mergers can go astray if the underlying cultures of the two organizations are fundamentally incompatible.
From Middle English astraien or by apheresis straien, from Old French estraier (“to stray”), from late Medieval Latin extravagari (“to wander beyond”), from Latin extra (“beyond”) + vagārī (“to wander, stray”).
Commonly follows the verbs 'go' or 'lead'.
He went to astrayHe went astrayAstray functions as a directional adverb and does not require the preposition 'to'.