a single stalk or stem, especially of certain species of grain, chiefly wheat, rye, oats, and barley.
a mass of such stalks, especially after drying and threshing, used as fodder.
material, fibers, etc., made from such stalks, as used for making hats or baskets.
the negligible value of one such stalk; trifle; least bit.
not to care a straw.
a tube, usually of paper or glass, for sucking up a beverage from a container.
to sip lemonade through a straw.
anything of possible but dubious help in a desperate circumstance.
a straw hat.
of, pertaining to, containing, or made of straw.
a straw hat.
of the color of straw; pale yellow.
of little value or consequence; worthless.
sham; fictitious.
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.
catch / clutch / grasp at a straw / straws / any straw(s), to seize at any chance, no matter how slight, of saving oneself from calamity.
stalks of threshed grain, esp of wheat, rye, oats, or barley, used in plaiting hats, baskets, etc, or as fodder
( as modifier )
a straw hat
a single dry or ripened stalk, esp of a grass
a long thin hollow paper or plastic tube or stem of a plant, used for sucking up liquids into the mouth
(usually used with a negative) anything of little value or importance
I wouldn't give a straw for our chances
a measure or remedy that one turns to in desperation (esp in the phrases clutch or grasp at a straw or straws )
a pale yellow colour
( as adjective )
straw hair
a hint or indication
a small incident, setback, etc that, coming after others, proves intolerable
before 950; Middle English; Old English strēaw; cognate with German Stroh; akin to strew
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.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But it is yet another straw in the wind that the stock market is skating on thin ice.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
And for the simplest possible showstopper, Frieda’s Hulas Ready-to-Drink Coconuts come peeled and prepped with a tool that lets you open them and insert a straw in seconds.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
Adams said straw, mushrooms, corn, rye and sunflowers are great bioremediators that can help to repair damage to soils.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
"Sometimes the wheat's too dry, so the grain is too small and risks being thrown out with the straw" by the combine harvester, said Franck Laborde, FNSEA's head of climate risk.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
I held the lamp for Mutti as she shook out some straw around Marlene’s feet.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
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 epic, high seas adventure follows hero Monkey D Luffy, leader of the Straw Hat pirates, on a worldwide hunt for a treasure known as the One Piece.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026
Straw blew out at the separator’s other end, and wheat poured out of its side.
From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder
All of items, sold individually, were snatched up by Wednesday within 24 hours of sales starting: water bottle caps, ring pop candy, police caution tape, straws, utensils -- as well as a single left AirPod.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 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
And, if you’re feeling playful, a whimsical bread: miniature muffins, pesto pull-apart bread, chickpea flour flatbreads, cheese straws, popovers — something that makes people point across the table and say, “Wait, what are those?”
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Some kitemakers have success with straws, but straws typically work better with diamond-shaped kites.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2026
Jobs turned out to be sorting the plastic forks, spoons, straws, and napkins for the cafeteria.
From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea
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.
