strut1
[struht]
- to walk with a vain, pompous bearing, as with head erect and chest thrown out, as if expecting to impress observers.
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- the act of strutting.
- a strutting walk or gait.
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- strut one's stuff, to dress, behave, perform, etc., one's best in order to impress others; show off.
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Origin of strut1
before 1000; Middle English strouten to protrude stiffly, swell, bluster, Old English strūtian to struggle, derivative of *strūt (whence Middle English strut strife)
Synonyms
See more synonyms for strut on Thesaurus.com1. parade, flourish. Strut and swagger refer especially to carriage in walking. Strut implies swelling pride or pompousness; to strut is to walk with a stiff, pompous, seemingly affected or self-conscious gait: A turkey struts about the barnyard. Swagger implies a domineering, sometimes jaunty, superiority or challenge, and a self-important manner: to swagger down the street.
strut2
[struht]
- any of various structural members, as in trusses, primarily intended to resist longitudinal compression.
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- to brace or support by means of a strut or struts.
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Origin of strut2
First recorded in 1565–75; obscurely akin to strut1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for strut
Contemporary Examples
Her curves found a way to strut through baggy denim in Nights in Rodanthe.
Her skintight sparkly black dress did not look too easy to strut down the catwalk in.
15 Hilarious Pageant MomentsJune 18, 2013
The kids hold what they call a “ramp walk,” a mock fashion show where we all dress up and strut on a makeshift stage.
On television, real housewives, basketball wives, and assorted other caricatures all strut forth baring cleavage.
Be prepared: It will be tough Watching Gingrich strut his stuff Stay tuned to hear him bloviate On narrow win in his home state.
Historical Examples
The strut that holds the propeller-shaft is shown in Fig. 91 .
Boys' Book of Model BoatsRaymond Francis Yates
A strut joint is a form of miter joint used in making trusses.
Handwork in WoodWilliam Noyes
They like better to strut about with their faces painted all the colors of the rainbow.
They may safely be left to strut about their uneasy hour and be forgotten.
In Our First Year of the WarWoodrow Wilson
There was a time when the realization caused him to strut a little, but he'd got over it.
Eight Keys to EdenMark Irvin Clifton
strut
- (intr) to walk in a pompous manner; swagger
- (tr) to support or provide with struts
- strut one's stuff informal to behave or perform in a proud and confident manner; show off
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- a structural member used mainly in compression, esp as part of a framework
- an affected, proud, or stiff walk
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Word Origin
C14 strouten (in the sense: swell, stand out; C16: to walk stiffly), from Old English strūtian to stand stiffly; related to Low German strutt stiff
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for strut
v.
"walk in a vain, important manner," Old English strutian "to stand out stiffly," from Proto-Germanic *strut- (cf. Danish strutte, German strotzen "to be puffed up, be swelled," German Strauß "fight"), from PIE root *ster- "strong, firm, stiff, rigid" (see sterile). Originally of the air or the attitude; modern sense, focused on the walk, first recorded 1510s. Cognate with Old English ðrutung "anger, arrogance" (see throat). To strut (one's) stuff is black slang, first recorded 1926, from strut as the name of a dance popular from c.1900.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper