noun
-
a sieve used for straining sauces, vegetables, tea, etc
-
a gauze or simple filter used to strain liquids
-
a self-locking device or a tool for tightening fencing wire
-
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
Compare meaning
How does strainer compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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:
Once the lemon juice is combined with the macerated peels, water and pickle juice are stirred in before the entire mixture is strained using a fine-mesh strainer.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2025
Drain in a fine-mesh strainer, rinse under cool water and drain again.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 1, 2023
While their treatment of the ancient world is informed, to say the least, by their prior work, the scenario also feels like Hallmark pulped through a Disney strainer.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2023
Pour the mixture into a wire mesh strainer over a bowl or measuring cup.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 17, 2023
Once when the Store was full of lunchtime customers, he dipped the strainer, which we also used to sift weevils from meal and flour, into the barrel and fished for two fat pickles.
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
She trimmed jeans threads, cooked savouries, shelled almonds and made tea strainers, door knobs, photo frames and toy guns.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2024
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
Eisenbise testified that she first had to drill a hole through one of the device’s end-caps and remove several metallic strainers inside the tube before it could function as a silencer.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 19, 2023
They lift broken masonry blocks, shovel dust and shattered glass through strainers.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
