stripe

¹ American  

[strahyp] / straɪp /

noun

1. 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.

2. a fabric or material containing such a band or bands.

3. a strip of braid, tape, or the like.

4. stripes,

   1. 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.

   2. 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.

5. a strip, or long, narrow piece of anything.

   a stripe of beach.

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

7. style, variety, sort, or kind.

   a man of quite a different stripe.

8. 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, striping

1. to mark or furnish with a stripe or stripes.

stripe ² American  

[strahyp] / straɪp /

noun

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

---

stripe ¹ British  

/ straɪp /

noun

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

2. a fabric having such bands

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

4. kind; sort; type

   a man of a certain stripe

---

verb

1. (tr) to mark with a stripe or stripes

stripe ² British  

/ straɪp /

noun

1. a stroke from a whip, rod, cane, etc

---

Other Word Forms

• stripeless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of stripe¹

First recorded in 1620–30; probably from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German strīpe; see also strip ², stripe ²

Origin of stripe²

First recorded in 1450–1500; late Middle English; obscurely akin to stripe ¹

Example Sentences

Executives from DoorDash, Ripple, Stripe and other companies have also contributed to the group.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

There are several big initial public offerings expected, such as SpaceX and fintechs Chime and Stripe, among others.

From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026

In addition to OpenAI and Anthropic, there’s talk that other major private tech companies such as Databricks, software firm Canva and payments giant Stripe could be waiting in the wings.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

Daniela was a young executive at payments startup Stripe.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

The Headmaster was sitting behind the desk holding my Stripe in his fingers.

From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl

Related Words

• ribbon