strut

¹ American  

[struht] / strʌt /

verb (used without object)

strutted, strutting

1. to walk with a vain, pompous bearing, as with head erect and chest thrown out, as if expecting to impress observers.

   Synonyms:

   flourish, parade

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noun

1. the act of strutting.

2. a strutting walk or gait.

idioms

1. strut one's stuff, to dress, behave, perform, etc., one's best in order to impress others; show off.

strut ² American  

[struht] / strʌt /

noun

1. any of various structural members, as in trusses, primarily intended to resist longitudinal compression.

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verb (used with object)

strutted, strutting

1. to brace or support by means of a strut or struts.

strut British  

/ strʌt /

verb

1. (intr) to walk in a pompous manner; swagger

2. (tr) to support or provide with struts

3. informal to behave or perform in a proud and confident manner; show off

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noun

1. a structural member used mainly in compression, esp as part of a framework

2. an affected, proud, or stiff walk

Synonym Usage

Strut and swagger refer especially to carriage in walking. Strut implies swelling pride or pompousness; to strut is to walk with a stiff, pompous, seemingly affected or self-conscious gait: A turkey struts about the barnyard. Swagger implies a domineering, sometimes jaunty, superiority or challenge, and a self-important manner: to swagger down the street.

Other Word Forms

• strutter
  noun
• strutting
  adjective
• struttingly
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of strut¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English strouten “to protrude stiffly, swell, bluster,” Old English strūtian “to struggle,” derivative of unattested strūt (whence Middle English strut “strife”)

Origin of strut²

First recorded in 1565–75; obscurely akin to strut ¹

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Explanation

When you strut, you walk with a proud swagger that has a little arrogance thrown in, like the prance of a running back who has just flown past the 250-pound linebackers and planted the ball in the end zone. You can't strut and be shy about it — when you strut, you know people are watching you. The big boss in a gangster film, a model on the runway, and the rap artist whose album has just gone platinum all know how to strut. The noun form of strut has a little less flash and refers to a vertical or horizontal support that holds something up, like the long steel bars holding up a building.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

strut strutted strutting

Dachshunds strut in ‘Sausage Walk’ during Paris fashion week.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

We studied the choreography, mimicking his strut to the ballroom stage, the hip swivels, the disco arm roll as he sings about getting Brad and Janet a satanic mechanic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

This was the ninth year for the annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, and it has emerged as the premier occasion for China to strut its stuff in AI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

"The driver came back to his car eventually and he opened the engine bay up and the snake was sat on the right-hand side above the strut spring."

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

The moves came quickly, just like in the club—a simple and beautiful strut, ancient but casual, like walking down the street.

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older

Five days later, Mladić strutted into town surrounded by TV camera crews.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Clanton strutted out with three water bottles, one of which he poured on Petering.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

While the popular girls strutted through the halls with their effortless Pinterest-inspired updos, I was applying brown eyeshadow to my scalp to disguise the sparse spots.

From Slate ● May 23, 2026

As Bad Bunny strutted through the greenery, he passed by old men playing dominoes, women chatting in a nail salon and boxers sparring—a montage of scenes from life in Puerto Rico.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026

Once free, I strutted up and down the line of girls waiting for their turns.

From "Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina" by Michaela DePrince

It’s a superb sequence, one in which Mr. Harington shows the depth of his talent and which all of Sydney’s earlier cynicism and strutting has made more convincing, and moving.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

“And then there’s some funny stuff too,” Dan explained, strutting around the store, with a sense of importance.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

New Yorkers can’t get enough of the strutting woodcock.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 2026

Noem was the public face of that disapproval, strutting forward with arrogance in the face of public censure, a veritable clown show of ineptitude.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026

As we went to the other side of the house, a brown- and-white-speckled rooster came strutting to meet us.

From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz

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Related Words

• prance
• sashay
• stalk
• stride
• swagger

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