definitions

straightjacket

[ streyt-jak-it ]
/ ˈstreɪtˌdʒæk ɪt /

noun, verb (used with object)

straitjacket.

Nearby words

straightedge, straighten, straighten out, straighten up, straightforward, straightjacket, straightneck, straightway, strain, strain fracture, strain gauge

Definition for straightjacket (2 of 2)

straitjacket

or straight·jack·et

[ streyt-jak-it ]
/ ˈstreɪtˌdʒæk ɪt /

noun

a garment made of strong material and designed to bind the arms, as of a violently disoriented person.
anything that severely confines, constricts, or hinders: Conventional attitudes can be a straitjacket, preventing original thinking.

verb (used with object) Also strait-jack·et.

to put in or as in a straitjacket: Her ambition was straitjacketed by her family.

Origin of straitjacket

First recorded in 1805–15; strait + jacket
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for straightjacket

British Dictionary definitions for straightjacket (1 of 2)

straightjacket

/ (ˈstreɪtˌdʒækɪt) /

noun

a less common spelling of straitjacket

British Dictionary definitions for straightjacket (2 of 2)

straitjacket

/ (ˈstreɪtˌdʒækɪt) /

noun

Also called: straightjacket a jacket made of strong canvas material with long sleeves for binding the arms of violent prisoners or mentally ill patients
a severe restriction or limitation

verb

(tr) to confine in or as if in a straitjacket
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

Medicine definitions for straightjacket

straitjacket

n.

A long-sleeved jacketlike garment used to bind the arms tightly against the body as a means of restraining a violent person.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.