strait

American  

[streyt] / streɪt /

noun

1. (used with a singular verb) Often straits. a narrow passage of water connecting two large bodies of water.

2. Often straits. a position of difficulty, distress, or need.

   Ill and penniless, he was in sad straits indeed.

   Synonyms:

   plight, predicament, dilemma, pinch, exigency

   Antonyms:

   ease

3. Archaic. a narrow passage or area.

4. an isthmus.

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adjective

Archaic.

1. narrow.

   Strait is the gate.

2. affording little space; confined in area.

3. strict, as in requirements or principles.

strait British  

/ streɪt /

noun

1. (often plural)

   1. a narrow channel of the sea linking two larger areas of sea

   2. ( capital as part of a name )

      the Strait of Gibraltar

2. (often plural) a position of acute difficulty (often in the phrase in dire or desperate straits )

3. archaic a narrow place or passage

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adjective

1. (of spaces, etc) affording little room

2. (of circumstances, etc) limiting or difficult

3. severe, strict, or scrupulous

strait Scientific  

/ strāt /

1. A narrow waterway joining two larger bodies of water. The Strait of Gibraltar, for example, connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean.

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Related Words

See emergency.

Other Word Forms

• straitly adverb
• straitness noun

Etymology

Origin of strait

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English streit “narrow, a strait,” from Old French estreit “narrow, tight,” from Latin strictus, past participle of stringere “to tighten, bind”; strain ¹

Example Sentences

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have pipelines bypass the strait, but their spare capacity would cover only a fraction of the roughly 20 million barrels a day usually flowing through Hormuz.

From The Wall Street Journal

Iranian politicians have repeatedly threatened to block the strait, a major global conduit for oil and gas.

From Barron's

About one-fifth of global oil and petroleum product consumption—roughly 20 million barrels a day —flowed through the strait in 2024, according to the U.S.

From Barron's

That operation will train armed forces to defend critical infrastructure against attacks and sabotage across Norway, Iceland and the Danish straits.

From BBC

He wasn’t sure if it was because he was in dire straits or because he was beginning to understand that the magic was there for him.

From Literature

Related Words

• predicament