stripe

[strahyp]

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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.

Origin of stripe

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

Related formsstripe·less, adjective

stripe

[strahyp]

noun

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

Origin of stripe

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

magnetic strip

noun

a strip of magnetic material on which information may be stored, as by an electromagnetic process, for automatic reading, decoding, or recognition by a device that detects magnetic variations on the strip: a credit card with a magnetic strip to prevent counterfeiting.

Also called magnetic stripe, stripes.

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

Related Words for stripes

ribbon, streak, division, layer, rule, decoration, band, stroke, fillet, bar, border, striation

Examples from the Web for stripes

Contemporary Examples of stripes

Those that earned their stripes by going to prison and taking the case are the ones that are admired.
The Mexican Mafia Is the Daddy of All Street Gangs
Seth Ferranti
December 11, 2014
Now I'd earned my stripes and I was just like them, and I realized it wasn't what I wanted at all.
Mark Wahlberg’s Pardon Plea: A Look Back At His Troubling, Violent, and Racist Rap Sheet
Marlow Stern
December 7, 2014
The sanctimonious, the puritans of all stripes, and the killjoys in general raise the issue annually.
Keep Christmas Commercialized!
P. J. O’Rourke
December 6, 2014
The giant retailer is realizing its dream of getting into the banking business, which should terrify populists of all stripes.
The People Vs. the Bank of Walmart
James Poulos
October 1, 2014
I hang out with artsy theater people, with angry political activists, and with nerds of all stripes.
It's Dangerous to Go Alone: Why Are Gamers So Angry?
Arthur Chu
August 28, 2014

Historical Examples of stripes

There was black-and-white paint on his body; the stripes of the Koshare do not come off easily.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin
Billy is out of the hospital and wearing my old sergeant's stripes.
Arm of the Law
Harry Harrison
Here, in the bush, all our tools come from the land of the Stars and Stripes.
Brighter Britain! (Volume 1 of 2)
William Delisle Hay
I found these specimens in the same locality with the B. stripes.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise
M. E. Hard
From the top the stars and stripes had been broken to the breeze.
The Solar Magnet
Sterner St. Paul Meek

British Dictionary definitions for stripes

stripe

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

stripe

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 stripes

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.

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.