strand

¹

[strand]

verb (used with object)

1. to drive or leave (a ship, fish, etc.) aground or ashore.

   The receding tide stranded the whale.

2. (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)

1. to be driven or left ashore; run aground.

2. to be halted or struck by a difficult situation.

   He stranded in the middle of his speech.

noun

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

strand

²

[strand]

noun

1. one of a number of fibers, threads, or yarns that are plaited or twisted together to form a rope, cord, or the like.

2. a similar part of a wire rope.

3. a rope made of such twisted or plaited fibers.

4. a fiber or filament, as in animal or plant tissue.

   a single strand of messenger RNA.

5. a thread or threadlike part of anything.

   the strands of a plot.

6. a tress of hair.

7. a string of pearls, beads, etc.

verb (used with object)

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

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

Strand

³

[strand]

noun

1. Mark, 1934–2014, U.S. poet, born in Canada: U.S. poet laureate 1990–91.

2. Paul, 1890–1976, U.S. photographer and documentary-film producer.

3. the, a street parallel to the Thames, in W central London, England: famous for hotels and theaters.

strand

¹

/ strænd /

noun

1. a set of or one of the individual fibres or threads of string, wire, etc, that form a rope, cable, etc

2. a single length of string, hair, wool, wire, etc

3. a string of pearls or beads

4. a constituent element in a complex whole

   one strand of her argument

verb

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

strand

²

/ strænd /

verb

1. to leave or drive (ships, fish, etc) aground or ashore or (of ships, fish, etc) to be left or driven ashore

2. (tr; usually passive) to leave helpless, as without transport or money, etc

noun

1. a shore or beach

2. a foreign country

Strand

³

/ strænd /

noun

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

Other Word Forms

• strandless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of strand¹

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

Origin of strand²

First recorded in 1490–1500; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of strand¹

C15: of uncertain origin

Origin of strand²

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

Example Sentences

The sculptures and drawings are both made up of seemingly endless loops of swirls, squigles and strands.

From BBC

The closure has stranded many Palestinians in the West Bank, who are unable to go on planned trips abroad.

From BBC

"We are stranded, there's no doubt about it. It's a beautiful place and we welcome people coming up here and it's great, but we are stranded if there's no bus," she said.

From BBC

He spent the next four innings battling traffic, stranding two runners later in the first, another two in the second, and two more in the third after a Wilmer Flores RBI single.

From Los Angeles Times

Early Friday morning, a group of about 10 people in six or seven cars were stranded on Highway 38 near Jenks Lake.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• fiber 
• filament 
• rope 
• string