stratum
a layer of material, naturally or artificially formed, often one of a number of parallel layers one upon another: a stratum of ancient foundations.
one of a number of portions or divisions likened to layers or levels: an allegory with many strata of meaning.
Geology. a single bed of sedimentary rock, generally consisting of one kind of matter representing continuous deposition.
Biology. a layer of tissue; lamella.
Ecology. (in a plant community) a layer of vegetation, usually of the same or similar height.
a layer of the ocean or the atmosphere distinguished by natural or arbitrary limits.
Sociology. a level or grade of a people or population with reference to social position, education, etc.: the lowest stratum of society.
Linguistics. (in stratificational grammar) a major subdivision of linguistic structure.: Compare level (def. 17).
Origin of stratum
1usage note For stratum
Other words from stratum
- stratous, adjective
Words Nearby stratum
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use stratum in a sentence
The stratum fits within their line of highly-protective, low-key cases.
My eye catches the calm and smooth stratum of gray clouds that approach from the south.
But their young deputies and ministerial director generals tended to be from this recently-returned, Western-educated stratum.
People who do well do not deserve what they have gotten - they got it because they were born into the right social stratum.
They were born into the wrong social stratum, or were handicapped by personal weaknesses that were not their fault.
And lifting them carefully one off the other, he took out a deal box that had stood in the lowest stratum.
Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le FanuIt is only a lower stratum, but still it is a part of terra firma, and on no account is it to be ignored.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)They reached a depth in his nature which had been long untouched; a stratum, so to speak, which lay far beneath the surface.
Ramona | Helen Hunt JacksonI thought that the frozen surface of the American woman thawed on the stratum soubrette.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonReddish, very quartzose sandstone; from a stratum which dips to the south-east, at an angle of about ten or fifteen degrees.
British Dictionary definitions for stratum
/ (ˈstrɑːtəm) /
(usually plural) any of the distinct layers into which sedimentary rocks are divided
biology a single layer of tissue or cells
a layer of any material, esp one of several parallel layers
a layer of ocean or atmosphere either naturally or arbitrarily demarcated
a level of a social hierarchy that is distinguished according to such criteria as educational achievement or caste status
Origin of stratum
1Derived forms of stratum
- stratal, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for stratum
[ strā′təm, străt′əm ]
A layer of sedimentary rock whose composition is more or less the same throughout and that is visibly different from the rock layers above and below it.
A layer of tissue, as of the skin or another organ.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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