straw

American  

[straw] / strɔ /

noun

1. a single stalk or stem, especially of certain species of grain, chiefly wheat, rye, oats, and barley.

2. a mass of such stalks, especially after drying and threshing, used as fodder.

3. material, fibers, etc., made from such stalks, as used for making hats or baskets.

4. the negligible value of one such stalk; trifle; least bit.

   not to care a straw.

5. a tube, usually of paper or glass, for sucking up a beverage from a container.

   to sip lemonade through a straw.

6. anything of possible but dubious help in a desperate circumstance.

7. straw man.

8. a straw hat.

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adjective

1. of, pertaining to, containing, or made of straw.

   a straw hat.

2. of the color of straw; pale yellow.

3. of little value or consequence; worthless.

4. sham; fictitious.

idioms

1. draw straws, to decide by lottery using straws or strawlike items of different lengths, usually with the short straw or straws determining the person chosen or the loser.

2. catch / clutch / grasp at a straw / straws / any straw(s), to seize at any chance, no matter how slight, of saving oneself from calamity.

straw ¹ British  

/ strɔː /

noun

1. 1. stalks of threshed grain, esp of wheat, rye, oats, or barley, used in plaiting hats, baskets, etc, or as fodder

   2. ( as modifier )

      a straw hat

2. a single dry or ripened stalk, esp of a grass

3. a long thin hollow paper or plastic tube or stem of a plant, used for sucking up liquids into the mouth

4. (usually used with a negative) anything of little value or importance

   I wouldn't give a straw for our chances

5. a measure or remedy that one turns to in desperation (esp in the phrases clutch or grasp at a straw or straws )

6. 1. a pale yellow colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      straw hair

7. a hint or indication

8. a small incident, setback, etc that, coming after others, proves intolerable

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adjective

1. having little value or substance

Straw ² British  

/ strɔː /

noun

1. Jack, full name John Whitaker Straw. born 1946, British Labour politician; Home Secretary (1997–2001); Foreign Secretary (2001–06); Lord Chancellor (2007–10)

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straw ³ British  

/ strɔː /

verb

1. archaic another word for strew

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straw More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing straw

• draw straws
• grasp at straws
• last straw
• make bricks without straw
• not worth a dime (straw)

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Other Word Forms

• strawless adjective
• strawlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of straw

before 950; Middle English; Old English strēaw; cognate with German Stroh; akin to strew

Example Sentences

After a long night tossing on scratchy straw bedding, the group disembarked a few hundred miles away at Newark, New York.

From Literature

“That wasn’t a very nice thing to say. Now, you go get that straw. I want to set those hens.”

From Literature

I gathered the straw from the ground until I had a handful.

From Literature

After an overconfident miller fibs that his daughter can spin straw into gold, a greedy king locks the poor girl in a room full of straw.

From The Wall Street Journal

Ayoola, 24, says storing items in straw baskets and jars can also add style.

From BBC