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

Disneyland’s Main Street certainly should be lined with fans March 26 when — as described on the Disneyland web site — “the Savannah Bananas shimmy, shake and strut their way through an unforgettable cavalcade!”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026

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

From Barron's • Feb. 18, 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

He leapt up to the strut where his dragonfly had been struggling into the world, and eased it gently free of the broken cocoon.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

• prance
• sashay
• stalk
• stride
• swagger