strand

[strand]

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verb (used with object)

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.

verb (used without object)

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.

noun

the land bordering the sea, a lake, or a river; shore; beach.

Origin of strand

before 1000; Middle English (noun), Old English; cognate with Dutch strand, German Strand, Old Norse strǫnd; akin to strew

strand

[strand]

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

to form (a rope, cable, etc.) by twisting strands together.

to break one or more strands of (a rope).

Origin of strand

First recorded in 1490–1500; origin uncertain

Related formsstrand·less, adjective

Strand

[strand]

noun

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.

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

Related Words for strand

rope, fiber, string, filament, lock, length, tress

Examples from the Web for strand

Contemporary Examples of strand

Using standard methods, the cost of printing DNA could run upwards of a billion dollars or more, depending on the strand.
Design Your Own Dinosaur: The Era of Custom DNA
Justin Jones
January 8, 2015
Later in the film, when she comes on wearing a strand of pearls, he snorts, “She looks like the queen.”
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
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.
Why Kate's Hair Matters
Tom Sykes
July 3, 2014
At the lower right corner, one can see that Level D is where the “guru” strand A3 finally met its demise.
A Mathematically Impossible Novel: Manil Suri Explains “The City of Devi”
Manil Suri
March 15, 2013

Historical Examples of strand

He fingered the strand on Young Pine's neck, making signs of friendship.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin
Then he moved from the fountain in the direction of the Strand.
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine
He was recalling the conversation which had passed in the little room in the Strand.
The Slave Of The Lamp
Henry Seton Merriman
He was seized by a creature and flung up on a strand where there seemed to be dwellings.
The Chinese Fairy Book
Various
The war situation may make it necessary for me to strand it.'
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for strand

strand

verb

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

noun mainly poetic

a shore or beach

a foreign country

Word Origin for strand

Old English; related to Old Norse strönd side, Middle High German strant beach, Latin sternere to spread

strand

noun

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

verb

(tr) to form (a rope, cable, etc) by winding strands together

Word Origin for strand

C15: of uncertain origin

Strand

noun

the Strand a street in W central London, parallel to the Thames: famous for its hotels and theatres

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).

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.

1620s, "to drive aground on a shore," from strand (n.1); figurative sense of "leave helpless" is first recorded 1837. Related: Stranded; stranding.