strap
Americannoun
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straps
plural
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a narrow strip of flexible material, especially leather, as for fastening or holding things together.
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a looped band by which an item may be held, pulled, lifted, etc., as a bootstrap or a ring that standing passengers may hold on to in a bus, subway, or the like.
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a strop for a razor.
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a long, narrow object or piece of something; strip; band.
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an ornamental strip or band.
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Machinery. a shallow metal fitting surrounding and retaining other parts, as on the end of a rod.
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Nautical, Machinery. strop.
verb (used with object)
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straps,
present (3rd person singular)
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strapped,
past participle, past
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strapping
present participle
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to fasten or secure with a strap or straps.
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to fasten (a thing) around something in the manner of a strap.
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to sharpen on a strap or strop.
to strap a razor.
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to beat or flog with a strap.
noun
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a long strip of leather or similar material, for binding trunks, baggage, or other objects
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a strip of leather or similar material used for carrying, lifting, or holding
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a loop of leather, rubber, etc, suspended from the roof in a bus or train for standing passengers to hold on to
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a razor strop
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commerce a triple option on a security or commodity consisting of one put option and two call options at the same price and for the same period Compare strip 2
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derogatory a shameless or promiscuous woman
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a beating with a strap as a punishment
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short for shoulder strap
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informal to achieve one's full potential or become fully effective
verb
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to tie or bind with a strap
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to beat with a strap
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to sharpen with a strap or strop
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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understrapnoun
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restrapverb (used with object)
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understrapverb (used with object)
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straplikeadjective
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strappableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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strapsimple
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strapssimple
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have strappedperfect
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has strappedperfect
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am strappingprogressive
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are strappingprogressive
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is strappingprogressive
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have been strappingperfect progressive
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has been strappingperfect progressive
Past
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strappedsimple
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had strappedperfect
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was strappingprogressive
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were strappingprogressive
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had been strappingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of strap
First recorded in 1565–75; variant of strop
Explanation
A strip of material used to hold something in place is a strap, like your bathing suit's shoulder straps, the strap on your book bag, or the strap of your seatbelt. As a verb, strap means "to secure with straps": "Let me strap my backpack on before I climb on your motorcycle." Standing passengers on buses and subways are sometimes called straphangers, named for the habit of grabbing the leather or webbed straps that once commonly hung from above. Some modes of transportation still have these straps, though they've increasingly been replaced with poles and handles.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
From inspecting Will Smith’s fade and high-top on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” to Method Man’s pristine chin strap beard worn throughout his career and Alfonso Ribeiro’s cut on “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026
Elsewhere on Saturday, French luxury house Hermes presented its women's collection in the courtyard of the elite Republican Guard police unit in Paris, making the zip its leitmotif and the ultra-fine strap an accessory.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
When her eldest started walking, she says "we always held hands, but had a wrist strap connecting us in case she tried to run off".
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
It said cracks were found on some older plane models in a structural reinforcement, known as the bear strap, around the forward gallery door.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Then and only then would she strap the skates together, sling them over her shoulder, and march off to join the skaters at school.
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
On a "feeding day", which happens around twice a week, he straps some of his 50-60,000 bugs to his arm and gets on with his work.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
The Mark II suit, with its Army green hue, zippers, pull strings and brown straps, looks like it belongs on the cover of a 1960s sci-fan fan magazine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Their four-pronged seam attack hitting their straps after Joe Root had won the toss in Autumnal conditions.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
General contractor Enrique Valdez of Azteca 111 Builder Inc. was tasked with cutting the ratchet straps securing Pinky, seemingly putting an end to the bird’s reign.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
I try not to envy how the pastel straps contrast with her tanned shoulders and arms.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
Medical staff tended to the 2025 Pro Bowl selection for almost 10 minutes, then strapped him to a backboard and carted him off the field.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
"We have to balance between the smaller customers and also those larger customers who might be equally vulnerable, a family with children, could be equally strapped for money."
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
For much of the race, Nixon’s campaign was strapped for cash and didn’t have much support from PACs or wealthy donors.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026
The CrossWave’s trap is easily accessed through a hatch in the aft deck—or, it would have been, but for the large icebox strapped to the tubular mounting bracket.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
There, plain as day, was the hilt of the knight’s sword, sitting securely in the scabbard strapped to Jack’s shoulder.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
In an analysis of the incident, computer scientist Cal Newport likened OpenAI’s training approach to strapping a Weedwacker to your dog to do yard work.
From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2026
But recently the 22-year old has been strapping a camera to his head to record his work.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
Groups of friends are still singing the words to their favorite Soulja Boy songs and parents are strapping their antsy toddlers into strollers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
That’s why scientists in Arizona are strapping volunteers into harnesses and lowering them onto wet floors: to find what kinds of surfaces are safest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Ella thought it was almost as if a pod of whales had taken flight after strapping enormous glass carriages to their stomachs.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
