strut

¹ American  

[struht] / strʌt /

verb (used without object)

strutted, strutting

1. to walk with a vain, pompous bearing, as with head erect and chest thrown out, as if expecting to impress observers.

   Synonyms:

   flourish, parade

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noun

1. the act of strutting.

2. a strutting walk or gait.

idioms

1. strut one's stuff, to dress, behave, perform, etc., one's best in order to impress others; show off.

strut ² American  

[struht] / strʌt /

noun

1. any of various structural members, as in trusses, primarily intended to resist longitudinal compression.

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verb (used with object)

strutted, strutting

1. to brace or support by means of a strut or struts.

strut British  

/ strʌt /

verb

1. (intr) to walk in a pompous manner; swagger

2. (tr) to support or provide with struts

3. informal to behave or perform in a proud and confident manner; show off

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noun

1. a structural member used mainly in compression, esp as part of a framework

2. an affected, proud, or stiff walk

Related Words

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.

Other Word Forms

• strutter noun
• strutting adjective
• struttingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of strut¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English strouten “to protrude stiffly, swell, bluster,” Old English strūtian “to struggle,” derivative of unattested strūt (whence Middle English strut “strife”)

Origin of strut²

First recorded in 1565–75; obscurely akin to strut ¹

Example Sentences

Around 25 outfits will strut the catwalk on Sunday, a moment that "goes by in a flash".

From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026

So many of the movie’s characters are long dead, their hopes and dreams now erased, while we strut and fret our hour upon the stage.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 23, 2026

We are up and operating again, getting our strut back.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025

This behaviour is in start contrast to the bravado of the pirates who used to strut around this charming, ancient port nestled between arid mountains on Somalia’s Indian Ocean coast.

From BBC • Dec. 21, 2024

I sniff, approach, strut a bit, but the others don’t welcome me.

From "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate

Related Words

• prance
• sashay
• stalk
• stride
• swagger