go astray

go astray (third-person singular simple present goes astray, present participle going astray, simple past went astray, past participle gone astray)

1. (intransitive) To develop bad habits; to behave improperly or illegally.

   Synonyms: break bad, go bad

   If you keep hanging out with that gang you'll go astray.

2. (intransitive) To behave in an adulterous manner.

   The woman thought her husband had gone astray.

3. (intransitive) To come to believe an untruth.
4. (intransitive, of an object) To become lost or mislaid.
5. (intransitive, chiefly in the negative) To be undesirable or unhelpful.

   A pinch of salt in this dish wouldn't go astray.

6. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see go,‎ astray.

• the best laid plans of mice and men go oft astray

• lead astray