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

Because China's future workforce is not quite ready to strut out.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

Whether or not you agree, “Power Surge” makes for a dense but rewarding narrative with its cast of CEOs and filmmakers who strut across—and occasionally fall off—the stage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

It wasn’t a limp—not at all—just the suggestion of one, but it looked like an affected walk, the strut of a very young man trying to appear more sophisticated than he was.

From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

Emerging between fireworks, Kerr had strutted out on to the track, spinning a bottle, and allowed his 12 rivals to sprint away.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 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

Despite Ward’s reservations about the song, it strutted all the way to No. 1 on the Hot 100.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

Bacchus climbed out of the lake and strutted over to Ephialtes, who was still lying spread-eagled, overcooked and smoking.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

The models seemed to have genuine fun strutting through the Four Seasons Grill and it was refreshing for not being so self-serious.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 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

The school drew parents like therapist Kavita Ramani and her computer-engineer husband, who delighted at the sight of their bright first-grader strutting with joy after a day at Tessellations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 2026

She’d been strutting along being beautiful, not paying attention to her feet, and the edge of her shoe caught on an uneven place in the pavement.

From "The City of Ember" by Jeanne DuPrau

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Related Words

• prance
• sashay
• stalk
• stride
• swagger

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