strait

[streyt]

SEE MORE 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.

Origin of strait

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

Related formsstrait·ly, adverbstrait·ness, noun

Can be confusedstraight strait

Synonyms for strait

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR strait ON THESAURUS.COM

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

Antonyms for strait

2. ease.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for strait

predicament, dilemma, distress, mystification, pass, perplexity, plight, squeeze, emergency, vicissitude, crossroad, hardship, exigency, mess, embarrassment, rigor, hole, bottleneck, bewilderment, extremity

Examples from the Web for strait

Contemporary Examples of 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
“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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of strait

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 Rudge
Charles Dickens
They expected to capture him on his return through the Strait of Magellan.
Introductory American History
Henry Eldridge Bourne
In every strait of his life he went to her for comfort or advice.
A Singer from the Sea
Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
At least, my father is doing his mighty best to make things so hard and strait.
The Book of Khalid
Ameen Rihani
The western opening of the strait could be seen, but it was entirely closed.
The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras
Jules Verne

British Dictionary definitions for strait

strait

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 Formsstraitly, 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

Word Origin and History for 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)).

strait in Medicine