strap
Americannoun
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straps
plural
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a narrow strip of flexible material, especially leather, as for fastening or holding things together.
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a looped band by which an item may be held, pulled, lifted, etc., as a bootstrap or a ring that standing passengers may hold on to in a bus, subway, or the like.
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a strop for a razor.
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a long, narrow object or piece of something; strip; band.
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an ornamental strip or band.
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Machinery. a shallow metal fitting surrounding and retaining other parts, as on the end of a rod.
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Nautical, Machinery. strop.
verb (used with object)
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straps,
present (3rd person singular)
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strapped,
past participle, past
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strapping
present participle
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to fasten or secure with a strap or straps.
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to fasten (a thing) around something in the manner of a strap.
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to sharpen on a strap or strop.
to strap a razor.
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to beat or flog with a strap.
noun
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a long strip of leather or similar material, for binding trunks, baggage, or other objects
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a strip of leather or similar material used for carrying, lifting, or holding
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a loop of leather, rubber, etc, suspended from the roof in a bus or train for standing passengers to hold on to
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a razor strop
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commerce a triple option on a security or commodity consisting of one put option and two call options at the same price and for the same period Compare strip 2
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derogatory a shameless or promiscuous woman
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a beating with a strap as a punishment
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short for shoulder strap
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informal to achieve one's full potential or become fully effective
verb
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to tie or bind with a strap
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to beat with a strap
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to sharpen with a strap or strop
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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understrapnoun
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restrapverb (used with object)
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understrapverb (used with object)
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straplikeadjective
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strappableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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strapsimple
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strapssimple
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have strappedperfect
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has strappedperfect
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am strappingprogressive
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are strappingprogressive
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is strappingprogressive
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have been strappingperfect progressive
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has been strappingperfect progressive
Past
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strappedsimple
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had strappedperfect
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was strappingprogressive
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were strappingprogressive
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had been strappingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of strap
First recorded in 1565–75; variant of strop
Explanation
A strip of material used to hold something in place is a strap, like your bathing suit's shoulder straps, the strap on your book bag, or the strap of your seatbelt. As a verb, strap means "to secure with straps": "Let me strap my backpack on before I climb on your motorcycle." Standing passengers on buses and subways are sometimes called straphangers, named for the habit of grabbing the leather or webbed straps that once commonly hung from above. Some modes of transportation still have these straps, though they've increasingly been replaced with poles and handles.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
When her eldest started walking, she says "we always held hands, but had a wrist strap connecting us in case she tried to run off".
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
To my surprise, the electric backpack leaf blower I strap on is not much heavier than my normal rucksack.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
I compared Cirqa’s workout logs with recordings from a chest strap, the gold standard for heart rate accuracy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
We alternated between mat and barre work, using light weights and an exercise strap and ball.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
I squeeze the strap of Gram’s bag and pretend it’s her hand.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
Many marmot problems appear to revolve around their appetite for salt, which they find on sweat-stained hiking poles and backpack straps as well as radiator fluid, said Blumstein, an ecology and evolutionary biology professor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
The looks are giving armor — not necessarily metal armor, but you have the fur, the leather, all the straps and headpieces, and it’s kind of like you’re protecting yourself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Chambers says if you're wearing a strappy top "you must wear a strapless bra as it utterly kills an outfit when you can see bra straps".
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Called the Virtus Scalable Tactical Vest, the body armour system has adjustable straps and smaller flat plates.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The plastic tarp was held in place by long straps that attached to the concrete patio all around it.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Neeleman also vocally refutes the idea of being a tradwife while, for example, showcasing the joys of making homemade cheese while an infant is strapped to her.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
Mushroom-pickers, who carry their wares in bright plastic buckets strapped to their backs, wait outside behind a folding gate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
That promises to heap more pressure on an already strapped public — even if the full economic impact of higher energy prices might take a while to fully trickle down to the U.S. economy.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
Sitting in line with the gear strapped to their backs for the training exercise, many know they are unlikely to ever do one in a real warzone.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The title was largely honorific, but it enabled him to carry a badge and to lead posses, and he sometimes kept one pistol in his side pocket and another strapped to his hip.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Groups of friends are still singing the words to their favorite Soulja Boy songs and parents are strapping their antsy toddlers into strollers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
And even though strapping on a fitness tracker already means accepting—and trusting—a company’s health rules, Tanwar wants full control over his own data to the extent possible.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
That’s why scientists in Arizona are strapping volunteers into harnesses and lowering them onto wet floors: to find what kinds of surfaces are safest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Rice, 27, limped out of the Boston Stadium after England's goalless draw against Ghana on Tuesday with heavy strapping on his left calf.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
And paying for school hinged on strapping on a harness and lowering himself over the edge of a cliff in the morning.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
