strait
[streyt]
- 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.
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- narrow: Strait is the gate.
- affording little space; confined in area.
- strict, as in requirements or principles.
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Origin of strait
1150–1200; Middle English streit < Old French estreit < Latin strictus past participle of stringere to bind; see strain1
Synonyms
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2. ease.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
predicamentdilemmadistressmystificationpassperplexityplightsqueezeemergencyvicissitudecrossroadhardshipexigencymessembarrassmentrigorholebottleneckbewildermentextremityExamples from the Web for strait
Contemporary Examples
And if the Strait of Hormuz were to be blocked by Iran or any other country or entity, oil prices would skyrocket.
“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.
If a conflict with Iran escalated beyond airstrikes to a naval struggle in the Strait of Hormuz, more resources would be diverted.
How long will it take, and at what cost, to reopen the strait and keep it open?
What of the other states that buy and sell the Gulf oil that moves through the strait?
Historical Examples
I hope I would have done at least as much for any man in such a strait, and most of all for you, sir.
Barnaby RudgeCharles Dickens
They expected to capture him on his return through the Strait of Magellan.
Introductory American HistoryHenry Eldridge Bourne
In every strait of his life he went to her for comfort or advice.
A Singer from the SeaAmelia Edith Huddleston Barr
At least, my father is doing his mighty best to make things so hard and strait.
The Book of KhalidAmeen Rihani
The western opening of the strait could be seen, but it was entirely closed.
strait
- (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
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- (of spaces, etc) affording little room
- (of circumstances, etc) limiting or difficult
- severe, strict, or scrupulous
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for strait
n.
mid-14c., "narrow, confined space or place," specifically of bodies of water from late 14c., noun use of adjective strait "narrow, strict" (late 13c.), from Old French estreit (French étroit) "tight, close, narrow" (also used as a noun), from Latin strictus, past participle of stringere "bind or draw tight" (see strain (v.)).
Sense of "difficulty, plight" (usually straits) first recorded 1540s. Strait and narrow "conventional way of life" is recorded from mid-14c. (see straight (adj.2)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
strait
(strāt)- A narrow passage, such as the upper or lower opening of the pelvic canal.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
strait
[strāt]
- A narrow waterway joining two larger bodies of water. The Strait of Gibraltar, for example, connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.