stripe

[ strahyp ]

/ straɪp /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stripe ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a relatively long, narrow band of a different color, appearance, weave, material, or nature from the rest of a surface or thing: the stripes of a zebra.

a fabric or material containing such a band or bands.

a strip of braid, tape, or the like.

stripes,

a number or combination of such strips, worn on a military, naval, or other uniform as a badge of rank, service, good conduct, combat wounds, etc.
Informal. status or recognition as a result of one's efforts, experience, or achievements: She earned her stripes as a traveling sales representative and then moved up to district manager.

a strip, or long, narrow piece of anything: a stripe of beach.

a streak or layer of a different nature within a substance.

style, variety, sort, or kind: a man of quite a different stripe.

Also called magnetic stripe. Movies. a strip of iron oxide layer on the edge of a film that is used for recording and reproducing a magnetic sound track.

verb (used with object), striped, strip·ing.

to mark or furnish with a stripe or stripes.

Nearby words

Origin of stripe

1620–30; < Middle Dutch or Middle Low German strīpe; see strip², stripe²

Related formsstripe·less, adjective

Definition for stripe (2 of 2)

stripe

[ strahyp ]

/ straɪp /

noun

a stroke with a whip, rod, etc., as in punishment.

Origin of stripe

1400–50; late Middle English; obscurely akin to stripe¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for stripe

New moms and dads of every stripe want their kids to grow up healthy and happy and successful.
The Neuroscience of My Gay Dad/Mom Brain|Russell Saunders|May 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There were low-slung skirts, exposed midriffs and jutting hips, column dresses, and every kind of stripe you could imagine.
Marc Jacobs' Spring Summer 2013 Show: Walk The Line|Isabel Wilkinson|September 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST
They look fearsome on the surface, and, yes, I and others of my stripe complain about the Democrats a lot.
Obstinate Congressional GOP and Supreme Court Conservatives Reject Compromise|Michael Tomasky|July 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Profiteers of every stripe were involved in the contraband cotton trade, including many army officers.
What Happened When General Grant Expelled Civil War Jews|Marc Wortman|March 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Africa has skipped a technological generation, bypassing the landlines that stripe our Western skies for the wireless way.
The World Is Getting Better, Argues New Book, ‘Abundance’|Sam Harris|February 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST
There is a grayish or brown dark stripe from the nostril to the eye; the stripe continues to the groin.
A Distributional Study of the Amphibians of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico|William E. Duellman
When matching stripes or plaids always turn on the line where the color changes, never through the middle of a stripe.
Handicraft for Girls|Idabelle McGlauflin
And to see the things he brought back from Oxford—quince–coloured, with a stripe that wide, like one of my fancy gourds.
Cradock Nowell, Vol. 1 (of 3)|Richard Doddridge Blackmore
This afternoon's up-journey between Havre and Rouen has been a stripe of pure bliss with no war about it at all.
Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front, 1914-1915|Anonymous
At a turn in the road in the mountains yesterday, there stood a statue of Rob Roy painted every stripe to life.
The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, Volume I|Burton J. Hendrick

British Dictionary definitions for stripe (1 of 2)

stripe

/ (straɪp) /

noun

a relatively long band of distinctive colour or texture that differs from the surrounding material or background

a fabric having such bands

a strip, band, or chevron of fabric worn on a military uniform, etc, esp one that indicates rank

mainly US and Canadian kind; sort; typea man of a certain stripe

verb

(tr) to mark with a stripe or stripes

Word Origin for stripe

C17: probably from Middle Dutch strīpe; related to Middle High German strīfe, of obscure origin

British Dictionary definitions for stripe (2 of 2)

stripe

/ (straɪp) /

noun

a stroke from a whip, rod, cane, etc

Word Origin for stripe

C15: perhaps from Middle Low German strippe; related to stripe 1

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 stripe (1 of 2)

stripe

n.1

"a line or band in cloth," 1620s (but probably much older), from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German stripe "stripe, streak," from Proto-Germanic *stripanan (cf. Danish stribe "a striped fabric," German Streifen "stripe"), cognate with Old Irish sriab "stripe," from PIE root *streig- (see strigil). Of soldiers' chevrons, badges, etc., attested from 1827.

Word Origin and History for stripe (1 of 2)

stripe

n.2

"a stroke or lash," mid-15c., probably a special use of stripe (n.1), from the marks left by a lash. Cf. also Dutch strippen "to whip," West Frisian strips, apparently cognate but not attested as early as the English word.

stripe

noun

verb (used with object), striped, strip·ing.

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Nearby words

Origin of stripe

Definition for stripe (2 of 2)

stripe

noun

Origin of stripe

Examples from the Web for stripe

British Dictionary definitions for stripe (1 of 2)

stripe

noun

verb

Word Origin for stripe

British Dictionary definitions for stripe (2 of 2)

stripe

noun

Word Origin for stripe

Word Origin and History for stripe (1 of 2)

stripe

Word Origin and History for stripe (1 of 2)

stripe