strap
Americannoun
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straps
plural
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a narrow strip of flexible material, especially leather, as for fastening or holding things together.
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a looped band by which an item may be held, pulled, lifted, etc., as a bootstrap or a ring that standing passengers may hold on to in a bus, subway, or the like.
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a strop for a razor.
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a long, narrow object or piece of something; strip; band.
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an ornamental strip or band.
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Machinery. a shallow metal fitting surrounding and retaining other parts, as on the end of a rod.
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Nautical, Machinery. strop.
verb (used with object)
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straps,
present (3rd person singular)
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strapped,
past participle, past
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strapping
present participle
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to fasten or secure with a strap or straps.
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to fasten (a thing) around something in the manner of a strap.
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to sharpen on a strap or strop.
to strap a razor.
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to beat or flog with a strap.
noun
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a long strip of leather or similar material, for binding trunks, baggage, or other objects
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a strip of leather or similar material used for carrying, lifting, or holding
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a loop of leather, rubber, etc, suspended from the roof in a bus or train for standing passengers to hold on to
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a razor strop
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commerce a triple option on a security or commodity consisting of one put option and two call options at the same price and for the same period Compare strip 2
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derogatory a shameless or promiscuous woman
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a beating with a strap as a punishment
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short for shoulder strap
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informal to achieve one's full potential or become fully effective
verb
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to tie or bind with a strap
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to beat with a strap
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to sharpen with a strap or strop
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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understrapnoun
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restrapverb (used with object)
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understrapverb (used with object)
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straplikeadjective
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strappableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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strapsimple
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strapssimple
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have strappedperfect
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has strappedperfect
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am strappingprogressive
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are strappingprogressive
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is strappingprogressive
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have been strappingperfect progressive
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has been strappingperfect progressive
Past
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strappedsimple
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had strappedperfect
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was strappingprogressive
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were strappingprogressive
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had been strappingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of strap
First recorded in 1565–75; variant of strop
Explanation
A strip of material used to hold something in place is a strap, like your bathing suit's shoulder straps, the strap on your book bag, or the strap of your seatbelt. As a verb, strap means "to secure with straps": "Let me strap my backpack on before I climb on your motorcycle." Standing passengers on buses and subways are sometimes called straphangers, named for the habit of grabbing the leather or webbed straps that once commonly hung from above. Some modes of transportation still have these straps, though they've increasingly been replaced with poles and handles.
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.
See Examples For:
Elsewhere on Saturday, French luxury house Hermes presented its women's collection in the courtyard of the elite Republican Guard police unit in Paris, making the zip its leitmotif and the ultra-fine strap an accessory.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
When her eldest started walking, she says "we always held hands, but had a wrist strap connecting us in case she tried to run off".
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
I compared Cirqa’s workout logs with recordings from a chest strap, the gold standard for heart rate accuracy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
“We’re asking airmen to strap into jets that their grandfathers, fathers and now they are flying, and it is time for a reset,” said Doug Birkey, executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
Then he dismounted from his horse, and he tightened the girth strap.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
The Mark II suit, with its Army green hue, zippers, pull strings and brown straps, looks like it belongs on the cover of a 1960s sci-fan fan magazine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Many marmot problems appear to revolve around their appetite for salt, which they find on sweat-stained hiking poles and backpack straps as well as radiator fluid, said Blumstein, an ecology and evolutionary biology professor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
The looks are giving armor — not necessarily metal armor, but you have the fur, the leather, all the straps and headpieces, and it’s kind of like you’re protecting yourself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
She explains that thicker straps are a safer option where the dress code is unclear and recommends satin camisoles as a more polished alternative to basic cotton vests.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
He looked up at the hoist with the frayed straps hanging down.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
Plans in place, George and I strapped our seven sequoias into a Pacifica minivan, whose 47 inches of vertical space were just enough to accommodate the tallest of our seven potted seedlings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
"We have to balance between the smaller customers and also those larger customers who might be equally vulnerable, a family with children, could be equally strapped for money."
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
To an outsider, both groups may be equally strapped when they’ve spent down their cash, but the first group is still rich.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
Neeleman also vocally refutes the idea of being a tradwife while, for example, showcasing the joys of making homemade cheese while an infant is strapped to her.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
She was strapped into the chair right beside Danny, and Orion had to be held in a large cage, though he had a perfectly comfortable bed and bowl of food.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
In an analysis of the incident, computer scientist Cal Newport likened OpenAI’s training approach to strapping a Weedwacker to your dog to do yard work.
From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2026
Groups of friends are still singing the words to their favorite Soulja Boy songs and parents are strapping their antsy toddlers into strollers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
And even though strapping on a fitness tracker already means accepting—and trusting—a company’s health rules, Tanwar wants full control over his own data to the extent possible.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Wearing strapping around her lower right leg, Raducanu looked tentative in an hour with her team on the Aorangi Park practice courts, where her mobility was not overly tested.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
Bent-backed, wrinkled, and toothless, he was carried to the table by two strapping slaves.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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