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• straw
  straw

  noun

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

  noun

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

straw

American  

[straw] / strɔ /

noun

• straws
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• strawless
  adjective
• strawlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• straws
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of straw

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

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Explanation

Straw is a fiber made from dried plant stalks. Horses love it. People make baskets, hats, bedding, fuel, and much more from straw. But not drinking straws —those are usually plastic. Many farm animals have sleeping areas lined with straw. This stiff, dry fiber is also added to animal feed, pressed into bricks that can be burned as fuel, and even made into bales that can comprise the walls of a home. Straw is what's left over when the grain and chaff have been removed from cereal plants like wheat. The Old English streaw literally means "that which is scattered or strewn." As a color, straw is light yellowish beige.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

straw Straw straws

Humans, for instance, can drink through a straw while upside down and still breathe.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026

Also offered: a straw maze, pumpkin decorating, a petting zoo, giant rocking horses, slides and more.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Kao had also given Navatek money to various relatives to donate to Collins in 2019, sending her around $33,000 through these illegal straw donors, the indictment said.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

But it might as well be drinking electrons through a straw.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Maggie rolled up Mam’s wedding dress and tucked it back in the straw basket.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

Straw men populate the book’s later chapters, particularly on economic questions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

"Our results suggest that visual landmarks aid the bees' navigation and increase the precision of their flight paths," explains Straw.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 14, 2026

"It is the first time in my life that I experience a total closure" of the Holy Sepulchre, Jack Straw, a 52-year-old resident of Jerusalem’s Old City, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Apr. 5, 2026

The second, Netflix’s “One Piece,” which returns March 10, follows the ragtag Straw Hat Pirates of executive producer Eiichiro Oda’s manga series as they pursue the valuable One Piece treasure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2026

Dick Straw claimed there were three score Westerosi in the company; a good third of those were here, including Dick himself, Hugh Hungerford, Pretty Meris, and golden-haired Lewis Lanster, the company’s best archer.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Should we draw straws to see who gets it?

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026

A wipe-out, without any straws to clutch at or fig leaves to hide behind.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

“We’re grabbing for straws, trying to develop something,” an officer told the New York Times within 24 hours of the bombing.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

Some kitemakers have success with straws, but straws typically work better with diamond-shaped kites.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2026

“She and Dennis Monahan tied, so they drew straws and my Margaret won.”

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

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