stranded
1 Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of stranded1
First recorded in 1700–10 in its literal sense “run or driven ashore,” and in its figurative sense in 1850–55; strand 1 ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. )
Origin of stranded2
Explanation
If you’re stuck somewhere with no way of getting anywhere else, you’re stranded. If you run out of gas while driving in the desert, you'll be stranded until someone finds you. Good luck! If you’re stranded, you probably experienced some kind of transportation failure. You might see stranded travelers at an airport in the middle of a blizzard. Boats can be stranded if their engines break down. Anything left behind or stuck can be called stranded, like a stranded fish in a tidal pool, or a stranded child at a fair. Stranded involves being left somewhere unpleasant, remote, or inconvenient — if you’re stuck at an amazing restaurant you're really not stranded.
Vocabulary lists containing stranded
Holes
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Bridge to Terabithia
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for November 27–December 3, 2021
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That they regularly got so many runners on is a good thing; leaving so many of them stranded isn’t.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
For the oil producers, it is worth it, because leaving the crude stranded is economically worse than taking on the freight cost and selling at thinner margins.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Flydubai has suspended flights to and from Israel since the attack, leaving some Israelis stranded in the UAE.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
The new work builds on those findings by directly comparing RNA with single stranded DNA that contained essentially the same sequences.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
“That sounds lovely,” Velia said sweetly, sounding like a heroine in one of those historical pieces on the arts channel instead of a modern-day girl stranded in the ruins of the Mexican countryside.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
