strip

¹ American  

[strip] / strɪp /

verb (used with object)

stripped, stript, stripping

1. to deprive of covering.

   Strip the peel off that orange.

   Synonyms:

   decorticate, peel, uncover

2. to deprive of clothing; make bare or naked.

   They stripped him and gave him new clothes befitting his station.

   Synonyms:

   denude

3. to take away or remove.

   I need to strip the sheets from the bed and wash them.

4. to deprive or divest.

   The lightning stripped the tree of its bark.

   The organization will strip him of all privileges.

5. to clear out or empty.

   Thieves may strip a house of all its contents.

6. to deprive of equipment; dismantle.

   If we strip the ship of rigging, we can repair it.

   Antonyms:

   furnish, equip, supply

7. to dispossess, rob, or plunder.

   The highwaymen stripped the man of his possessions.

   Synonyms:

   despoil

8. to remove varnish, paint, wax, or the like from.

   The wood should be stripped and then refinished.

9. to separate the leaves from the stalks of (tobacco).

10. to remove the midrib, as from tobacco leaves.

11. Machinery. to break off the thread of (a screw, bolt, etc.) or the teeth of (a gear), as by applying too much force.

12. to remove the mold from (an ingot).

13. to draw the last milk from (a cow), especially by a stroking and compressing movement.

14. to draw out (milk) in this manner.

15. Photoengraving. to remove (the emulsion from a film base) in order to place it on a glass plate for exposure to the metal plate.

16. Textiles.

    1. to clean (a carding roller) by removing waste fibers.

    2. to transfer (fibers) from one carding roller to another.

    3. to remove (color) from a cloth or yarn in order to redye it another color.

    4. to remove color from (a cloth or yarn).

17. Bridge. to lead successively winning cards from (a hand) in order to dispose of as many cards as necessary preparatory to surrendering the lead to an opponent so that any card the opponent plays will be to their disadvantage.

18. Mining. to strip-mine.

19. Chemistry. to remove the most volatile components from, as by distillation or evaporation.

20. Finance. to split (a bond) for selling separately as a principal certificate and as interest coupons.

21. Surgery. to remove (a vein) by pulling it inside out through a small incision, using a long, hooked instrument.

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verb (used without object)

stripped, stript, stripping

1. to strip something.

   They do not contain harsh detergents, such as sulfates, that can irritate, strip or dehydrate.

   When dealing with furniture stain, I always strip as gently as possible.

2. to remove one's clothes.

3. to perform a striptease.

4. to become stripped.

   Bananas strip easily.

noun

1. a striptease.

strip ² American  

[strip] / strɪp /

noun

1. a narrow piece, comparatively long and usually of uniform width.

   a strip of cloth, metal, land, etc.

2. a continuous series of drawings or pictures illustrating incidents, conversation, etc., as a comic strip.

3. Aeronautics.

   1. an airstrip; runway.

   2. landing strip.

4. Philately. three or more stamps joined either in a horizontal or vertical row.

5. Informal. striplight.

6. (sometimes initial capital letter) a road, street, or avenue, usually in a city or a main thoroughfare between outlying suburbs, densely lined on both sides by a large variety of retail stores, gas stations, restaurants, bars, etc..

   Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.

7. strip steak.

8. drag strip.

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verb (used with object)

stripped, stripping

1. to cut, tear, or form into strips.

2. Printing. to combine (a piece of film) with another, especially for making a combination plate of lines and halftones.

3. to broadcast (a television series) in multiple related segments, as daily from Monday through Friday.

strip ¹ British  

/ strɪp /

verb

1. to take or pull (the covering, clothes, etc) off (oneself, another person, or thing)

   to strip a wall

   to strip a bed

2. (intr)

   1. to remove all one's clothes

   2. to perform a striptease

3. (tr) to denude or empty completely

4. (tr) to deprive

   he was stripped of his pride

5. (tr) to rob or plunder

6. (tr) to remove (paint, varnish, etc) from (a surface, furniture, etc) by sanding, with a solvent, etc

   stripped pine

7. Also: pluck. (tr) to pull out the old coat of hair from (dogs of certain long- and wire-haired breeds)

8. 1. to remove the leaves from the stalks of (tobacco, etc)

   2. to separate the two sides of a leaf from the stem of (tobacco, etc)

9. (tr) agriculture to draw the last milk from each of the teats of (a cow)

10. to dismantle (an engine, mechanism, etc)

11. to tear off or break (the thread) from (a screw, bolt, etc) or (the teeth) from (a gear)

12. (often foll by down) to remove the accessories from (a motor vehicle)

    his car was stripped down

13. to remove (the most volatile constituent) from (a mixture of liquids) by boiling, evaporation, or distillation

14. printing (usually foll by in) to combine (pieces of film or paper) to form a composite sheet from which a plate can be made

15. (tr) (in freight transport) to unpack (a container) See also stuffing and stripping

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noun

1. the act or an instance of undressing or of performing a striptease

strip ² British  

/ strɪp /

noun

1. a relatively long, flat, narrow piece of something

2. short for airstrip

3. philately a horizontal or vertical row of three or more unseparated postage stamps

4. the clothes worn by the members of a team, esp a football team

5. commerce a triple option on a security or commodity consisting of one call option and two put options at the same price and for the same period Compare strap

6. short for dosing strip

7. informal to rebuke (someone) angrily

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verb

1. to cut or divide into strips

Synonym Usage

Strip, deprive, dispossess, divest imply more or less forcibly taking something away from someone. To strip is to take something completely (often violently) from a person or thing so as to leave in a destitute or powerless state: to strip a man of all his property; to strip the bark from a tree. To deprive is to take away forcibly or coercively what one has, or to withhold what one might have: to deprive workers of their livelihood. To dispossess is to deprive of the holding or use of something: to dispossess the renters of a house. Divest usually means depriving of rights, privileges, powers, or the like: to divest a king of authority.

Etymology

Origin of strip¹

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English verb strepe(n), streppin, strippe, unattested Old English -strī(e)pan, -strȳpan, -strēpan (compare Old English bestrȳpan “to rob, plunder,” Middle High German strupfen “to strip off”)

Origin of strip²

First recorded in 1425–75; variant of late Middle English stripe, cognate with or borrowed from Middle Low German strippe “strap, thong”; see stripe ¹

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Explanation

The verb strip has many shades of meaning, but most of them involve removing something. Someone may strip you of your power or you may strip off your clothes. Whatever it is that you strip, it’s gone. When you strip something, you leave it bare. Strip can refer to removing a covering — like your clothes or like when you strip your sheets from your bed. Robbers may strip your car of all valuable items. And you might need to strip off a coat of paint before you start painting the front door. When used as a noun, strip could be something in a long, narrow shape — like an airstrip or a strip of material.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

strip stripped stripping stript

The church is under pressure to strip Saunders of his remaining title and ministry powers, a decision the Archbishop said would be determined by Rome.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Tyler Perry Studios boasts a replica of the White House, an airport terminal, two baseball fields, a strip mall, a residential neighborhood, and a golf course.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

This isn’t an argument for turning every anonymous strip mall back into a village of idiosyncratic mom-and-pop shops.

From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026

In recent days, Brazil's beloved patron saint, Our Lady of Aparecida, depicted as a Black Madonna, became the focus as rumours erupted that Flavio Bolsonaro planned to strip her of her post if elected.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Kennedy used his knife to cut a strip of material from McMahon’s life vest, leaving one end attached to the vest and locking the other end between his teeth.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

In July, Donaldson was stripped of his knighthood by the King.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

In the city of Mardan, an AFP journalist saw a truck that had acted as a rallying point during the long march protests stripped of its images of Khan.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

Three plays into that against-all-odds drive, the Seahawks stripped the ball from Justin Herbert, recovered the fumble and ran out the clock.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

When Hurts dropped back to pass on third down, attempting to salvage the game, he was stripped by linebacker Byron Young, who tallied 2.5 sacks in the game.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

He picked up one of the thin branches he had snapped off and stripped all the leaves from it.

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret

One stick insect known for occasionally reaching plague-like population levels and stripping leaves from trees was found to represent more than one species.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

Crenshaw dominated early, Caden Baker stripping the ball from Odebunmi near midfield on Cleveland’s first possession and scoring on the 50-yard fumble return.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026

In an interview with MarketWatch, Palfrey pointed out that S&P 500 earnings per share jumped 55% in the second quarter, or a still-impressive 35% when stripping out unrealized gains.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

Zac is non-verbal and his mum said his behaviour can be extremely challenging, including stripping off his clothes and running away when they are out.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

It left them and turned fierce, stripping leaves from trees and pulling the dirt from ancient earthen walls.

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

My house was stript to a wastage, and every thing was taken away; what was too heavy to be easily transported was, after being carried some distance, left on the road.

From Ringan Gilhaize or The Covenanters by John Galt

The sad time is come; she is stript of her Wood,

From Village Life in America 1852-1872 Including the period of the American Civil War as told in the diary of a school-girl by Caroline Cowles Richards

But when we are shown the mystic way that leads to schoolrooms, we find them stript, as it were, for service.

From The Story of a Life by J. Breckenridge (John Breckenridge) Ellis

As you peruse you may find it difficult to believe that Macartney himself—James Adolphus, that remarkable solicitor—could have possessed a quivering, winged soul fit to be stript, and have hidden it so deep.

From Love and Lucy by Maurice Henry Hewlett

We say now, if any one had stolen his corpse, he would not have stript him, for theft loves no delay.

From The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church Containing the Sermones Catholici, or Homilies of ?lfric, in the Original Anglo-Saxon, with an English Version. Volume I. by Abbot of Eynsham Aelfric

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Related Words

• band
• bar
• belt
• bit
• fillet
• layer
• ribbon
• rod
• section
• segment
• slab
• stripe
• tape

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