strait
[ streyt ]
/ streɪt /
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.
RELATED WORDS
predicament, dilemma, distress, mystification, pass, perplexity, plight, squeeze, emergency, vicissitude, crossroad, hardship, exigency, mess, embarrassment, rigor, hole, bottleneck, bewilderment, extremity
Nearby words
- strained,
- strainer,
- straining arch,
- straining piece,
- straining sill,
- strait-jacket,
- strait-lace,
- strait-laced,
- straiten,
- straitened
Origin of strait
1150–1200; Middle English streit < Old French estreit < Latin strictus past participle of stringere to bind; see strain1
SYNONYMS FOR strait
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web 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
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
strait
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)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
strait
[ strāt ]
n.
A narrow passage, such as the upper or lower opening of the pelvic canal.
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.