missing

Compared meaning: not in the place it should be (adjective).

比较义项：不在原本该有的位置——丢失、下落不明或无主流浪（形容词）。

• lost

  Describes a possession the owner once had but no longer has; used informally for personal belongings like keys, wallets or phones the owner is trying to recover.

  指某物本来属于某人，但现在已经不再拥有；常用于口语中描述个人物品（如钥匙、钱包、手机），主人正设法找回。

  He finally found his lost keys under the couch after searching all morning.

  他找了一上午，终于在沙发底下找到了自己丢失的钥匙。

• missing 本词

  A more neutral, often official term for a person or thing whose current location is unknown; common in reports and searches, without stating whose fault it is.

  语气更中性，常用于正式场合，指人或物目前下落不明；常见于报告或搜寻场景，并不说明是谁的责任。

  Officials released a photo of the missing child to help the search efforts.

  官方公布了这名失踪儿童的照片，以协助搜寻工作。

• stray

  Used almost only for animals with no owner or home, wandering on their own; unlike lost, it does not imply the animal ever belonged to someone.

  几乎只用来形容无主、四处游荡的动物；和lost不同，它并不暗示这只动物曾经属于某人。

  A stray dog followed us home from the park and now lives in our yard.

  一只流浪狗从公园跟着我们回家，现在就住在我们院子里。

All three describe something not in its proper place. Lost implies it was once owned. Missing is neutral, used in official searches. Stray describes only ownerless animals wandering freely. Lost also means unable to find your way; stray also means random. Not compared here.

这三个词都表示某物或某人“不在该在的地方”，但语气和搭配不同：lost强调本来拥有、后来失去；missing更中性、常用于正式的寻人寻物场合；stray几乎只用于无主、四处游荡的动物。这里不比较lost另一常见的“迷路的”义项（如I got lost），也不比较stray“偏离主题的、偶然的”义项（如a stray remark）。