stranded

¹ American  

[stran-did] / ˈstræn dɪd /

adjective

1. left helpless or without transport.

   Officials said many people remained stranded even though floodwaters were receding.

   Synonyms:

   abandoned, left in the lurch, forsaken, deserted

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stranded ² American  

[stran-did] / ˈstræn dɪd /

adjective

1. composed of a specified number or kind of strands (usually used in combination).

   a five-stranded rope.

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Other Word Forms

• strandedness noun
• unstranded adjective

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

First recorded in 1805–15; strand ² + -ed ³

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.

Example Sentences

In 2009, Universal Pictures adapted “Land of the Lost” into a $100-million box-office flop about the tales of a family stranded in a dinosaur-ridden jungle.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

However, liquefied natural gas tankers “remain at a standstill, with vessels stranded on both sides of the strait and operators still awaiting clearer security guarantees before re-entering the route,” Kpler added External link.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

They compared these records with necropsy data from stranded whales.

From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026

Thousands of sailors are stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran charging up to $2 million for ship passage.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

Or the ebb tide when a white-sided dolphin stranded on our shore, Osh gone somewhere, and I came back from Cuttyhunk to find her rocking and heaving, her cries babylike and afraid.

From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk

Related Words

• aground
• ashore
• grounded
• helpless
• wrecked