stringer

[string-er]

See more synonyms for stringer on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person or thing that strings.
a long horizontal timber connecting upright posts.
Architecture. string(def 15b).

Civil Engineering. a longitudinal bridge girder for supporting part of a deck or railroad track between bents or piers.
a longitudinal reinforcement in the fuselage or wing of an airplane.
Also called string correspondent. Journalism. a part-time newspaper correspondent covering a local area for a paper published elsewhere: The Los Angeles paper has a correspondent in San Francisco but only a stringer in Seattle.Compare staffer(def 2).
a stout string, rope, etc., strung through the gills and mouth of newly caught fish, so that they may be carried or put back in the water to keep them alive or fresh.
a contestant, player, or other person ranked according to skill or accomplishment (used in combination): Most of the conductors at the opera house were third-stringers.
Mining. a small vein or seam of ore, coal, etc.

Origin of stringer

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at string, -er¹

Related formsre·string·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for stringer

correspondent, reporter, writer, columnist, press, commentator, editor, broadcaster, interviewer, journalist, girder, scaffolding, joist, shaft, pillar, pole, plank, timber, sill

Examples from the Web for stringer

Contemporary Examples of stringer

“They always seem to be on the move,” said Rodrigo Soberanes, a stringer for AP in Veracruz.
Mexican Journalists Speak Out on Reporter Murders
Jason McGahan
June 17, 2014
The real goal was going from this stringer service to become a network cameraman.
How ‘Transcendence’ Director Wally Pfister Became Christopher Nolan’s Secret Weapon
Andrew Romano
April 17, 2014
The British-born Stringer likened Letterman to the satirical tradition of comedy in his home country.
David Letterman Surprises CBS and Announces His Retirement
Lloyd Grove
April 3, 2014
A “stringer,” in the parlance of foreign correspondents, Sundaram sold stories to The New York Times and the Associated Press.
This Week’s Hot Reads: Feb. 24, 2014
Thomas Flynn
February 24, 2014
Stringer depicts a country that is beset by complications of both past imperialism and current globalism.
This Week’s Hot Reads: Feb. 24, 2014
Thomas Flynn
February 24, 2014

Historical Examples of stringer

At any rate, Stringer is after him, but he's got next to nothing to go upon.
The Yellow Claw
Sax Rohmer
You, Stringer, appear to think that Nurse Proctor is responsible.
The Yellow Claw
Sax Rohmer
Sowerby stared hard, and Stringer scratched his chin, reflectively.
The Yellow Claw
Sax Rohmer
Stringer emptied his glass of rum, and Sowerby disposed of his stout.
The Yellow Claw
Sax Rohmer
"It's the rain that's doing it," said the man beside Stringer.
The Yellow Claw
Sax Rohmer

British Dictionary definitions for stringer

stringer

noun

architect
1. a long horizontal beam that is used for structural purposes
2. another name for stringboard
nautical a longitudinal structural brace for strengthening the hull of a vessel
a journalist retained by a newspaper or news service on a part-time basis to cover a particular town or area

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for stringer

"newspaper correspondent paid by length of copy," 1950, probably from earlier figurative sense of "one who strings words together" (1774); agent noun from string (v.).