noun
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a sieve used for straining sauces, vegetables, tea, etc
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a gauze or simple filter used to strain liquids
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a self-locking device or a tool for tightening fencing wire
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the main post in a wire fence, often diagonally braced
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of strainer
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at strain 1, -er 1
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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.
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This method works with anything with holes, such as a straw hat, a strainer, a cheese grater or even a perforated spoon.
From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2024
Use whatever strainer you have: Perhaps a fine-mesh, a collander set over another pot or — if you happen to inexplicably have access to a restaurant — a tamis or a chinois.
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2024
Roll them before juicing, use a reamer if you have it and use a fine-mesh strainer to catch seeds.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2023
Pour the mixture into a wire mesh strainer over a bowl or measuring cup.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 17, 2023
When the last school bell rang, he picked the nearly dry pickles out of the strainer, jammed them into his pockets and threw the strainer behind the oranges.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
Special strainers for grating and juicing tomatoes gained a place among kitchen furnishings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
Hand crank and electric tomato presses, strainers and sauce makers allow gardeners to separate the skins and seeds from the tomato meat for quicker and easier processing.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 13, 2023
He wants to go back to tea pits, tea cups, tea strainers and "those all-omitting tea timers".
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2023
The tubes are approximately 10 mm in diameter, boast a narrow tip and include what appear to be strainers, which would filter out the impurities that were common in age-old beer.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 19, 2022
An assortment of pots and pans hang from hooks on the wooden studs next to ladles and strainers and big boxes of breakfast cereal, which must come from Costco.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
