strand1
[strand]
- to drive or leave (a ship, fish, etc.) aground or ashore: The receding tide stranded the whale.
- (usually used in the passive) to bring into or leave in a helpless position: He was stranded in the middle of nowhere.
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- to be driven or left ashore; run aground.
- to be halted or struck by a difficult situation: He stranded in the middle of his speech.
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- the land bordering the sea, a lake, or a river; shore; beach.
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Origin of strand1
before 1000; Middle English (noun), Old English; cognate with Dutch strand, German Strand, Old Norse strǫnd; akin to strew
strand2
[strand]
- one of a number of fibers, threads, or yarns that are plaited or twisted together to form a rope, cord, or the like.
- a similar part of a wire rope.
- a rope made of such twisted or plaited fibers.
- a fiber or filament, as in animal or plant tissue.
- a thread or threadlike part of anything: the strands of a plot.
- a tress of hair.
- a string of pearls, beads, etc.
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- to form (a rope, cable, etc.) by twisting strands together.
- to break one or more strands of (a rope).
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Origin of strand2
First recorded in 1490–1500; origin uncertain
Strand
[strand]
- Mark,1934–2014, U.S. poet, born in Canada: U.S. poet laureate 1990–91.
- Paul,1890–1976, U.S. photographer and documentary-film producer.
- the, a street parallel to the Thames, in W central London, England: famous for hotels and theaters.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for strand
Contemporary Examples
Using standard methods, the cost of printing DNA could run upwards of a billion dollars or more, depending on the strand.
Later in the film, when she comes on wearing a strand of pearls, he snorts, “She looks like the queen.”
The beads are also a risk in and of themselves if the strand breaks.
Kids Eat the Darndest Things: Laundry Pods, Teething Necklaces, and More Of The Weirdest Stuff Sending Kids to the E.R.Russell Saunders
November 14, 2014
That's why Britain, as a nation, can't handle it when a strand is out of place.
At the lower right corner, one can see that Level D is where the “guru” strand A3 finally met its demise.
Historical Examples
He fingered the strand on Young Pine's neck, making signs of friendship.
The Trail BookMary Austin
Then he moved from the fountain in the direction of the Strand.
The Foolish LoversSt. John G. Ervine
He was recalling the conversation which had passed in the little room in the Strand.
The Slave Of The LampHenry Seton Merriman
He was seized by a creature and flung up on a strand where there seemed to be dwellings.
The Chinese Fairy BookVarious
The war situation may make it necessary for me to strand it.'
strand1
- to leave or drive (ships, fish, etc) aground or ashore or (of ships, fish, etc) to be left or driven ashore
- (tr; usually passive) to leave helpless, as without transport or money, etc
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- a shore or beach
- a foreign country
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Word Origin
Old English; related to Old Norse strönd side, Middle High German strant beach, Latin sternere to spread
strand2
- a set of or one of the individual fibres or threads of string, wire, etc, that form a rope, cable, etc
- a single length of string, hair, wool, wire, etc
- a string of pearls or beads
- a constituent element in a complex wholeone strand of her argument
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- (tr) to form (a rope, cable, etc) by winding strands together
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Word Origin
C15: of uncertain origin
Strand
- the Strand a street in W central London, parallel to the Thames: famous for its hotels and theatres
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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 strand
n.1
"shore," Old English strand, from Proto-Germanic *strandas (cf. Danish and Swedish strand "beach, shore, strand," Old Norse strönd "border, edge, shore," Middle Low German strant, German Strand, Dutch strand "beach"), perhaps from PIE root *ster- "to stretch out." Strictly, the part of a shore that lies between the tide-marks. Formerly also used of river banks, hence the London street name (1246).
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n.2
"fiber of a rope, string, etc.," late 15c., probably from Old French estran, from a Germanic source akin to Old High German streno "lock, tress, strand of hair," Middle Dutch strene, German Strähne "skein, strand," of unknown origin.
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v.
1620s, "to drive aground on a shore," from strand (n.1); figurative sense of "leave helpless" is first recorded 1837. Related: Stranded; stranding.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper