strait

[ streyt ]

/ streɪt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR strait ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Often straits. (used with a singular verb) a narrow passage of water connecting two large bodies of water.

Often straits. a position of difficulty, distress, or need: Ill and penniless, he was in sad straits indeed.

Archaic. a narrow passage or area.

an isthmus.

adjective Archaic.

narrow: Strait is the gate.

affording little space; confined in area.

strict, as in requirements or principles.

Words nearby strait

strained, strainer, straining arch, straining piece, straining sill, strait, strait-lace, strait-laced, straiten, straitjacket, straits dollar

Origin of strait

1150–1200; Middle English streit < Old French estreit < Latin strictus past participle of stringere to bind; see strain¹

SYNONYMS FOR strait

2 exigency, pinch, dilemma, predicament, plight. See emergency.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR strait ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR strait

2 ease.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR strait ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM strait

strait·ly, adverbstrait·ness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH strait

straight strait

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for strait

And if the Strait of Hormuz were to be blocked by Iran or any other country or entity, oil prices would skyrocket.
Both Candidates Push Myth of Energy Independence|Robert Bryce|November 1, 2012|DAILY BEAST
“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it,” or so says Matthew 7.
The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"|David Yaffe|September 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
If a conflict with Iran escalated beyond airstrikes to a naval struggle in the Strait of Hormuz, more resources would be diverted.
GOP Candidates Are Wrong to Urge a Second Front War in Iran|Bruce Riedel|January 27, 2012|DAILY BEAST
How long will it take, and at what cost, to reopen the strait and keep it open?
Leslie H. Gelb: Think Before Acting on Iran|Leslie H. Gelb|January 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST

What of the other states that buy and sell the Gulf oil that moves through the strait?
Leslie H. Gelb: Think Before Acting on Iran|Leslie H. Gelb|January 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The light came in pale and showed the strait inclosure of their little prison.
The Wizard's Son, vol. 3|Margaret Oliphant
And is the strait longas long as to the end of the millpond?
A Little Girl in Old St. Louis|Amanda Minnie Douglas
As soon as one enters this strait, a strong bar is thrown across the passage from behind.
Illustrative Anecdotes of the Animal Kingdom|Samuel Griswold Goodrich
I could see eight vessels, apparently all battleships, lying in line from the entrance up the strait.
New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 2, May, 1915|Various
We must either enter heaven by the strait gate, or not at all.
Practical Religion|John Charles Ryle

British Dictionary definitions for strait

strait

/ (streɪt) /

noun

(often plural)

a narrow channel of the sea linking two larger areas of sea
(capital as part of a name)the Strait of Gibraltar

(often plural) a position of acute difficulty (often in the phrase in dire or desperate straits)

archaic a narrow place or passage

adjective archaic

(of spaces, etc) affording little room

(of circumstances, etc) limiting or difficult

severe, strict, or scrupulous

Derived forms of strait

straitly, adverbstraitness, noun

Word Origin for strait

C13: from Old French estreit narrow, from Latin strictus constricted, from stringere to bind tightly

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