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

Synonym Usage

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

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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

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Explanation

When you strut, you walk with a proud swagger that has a little arrogance thrown in, like the prance of a running back who has just flown past the 250-pound linebackers and planted the ball in the end zone. You can't strut and be shy about it — when you strut, you know people are watching you. The big boss in a gangster film, a model on the runway, and the rap artist whose album has just gone platinum all know how to strut. The noun form of strut has a little less flash and refers to a vertical or horizontal support that holds something up, like the long steel bars holding up a building.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

strut strutted strutting

Three high school girls all dressed in pink strut up to the outcast in red flannel and tell her what it takes to be popular.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

They eat specially curated dinners, strut around in breeders’ shows and often rule over their owners like whiskered tyrants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Dachshunds strut in ‘Sausage Walk’ during Paris fashion week.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

"The driver came back to his car eventually and he opened the engine bay up and the snake was sat on the right-hand side above the strut spring."

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

“This is one of those hairdos you strut your stuff in. Sisters wearing these know they’re sharp,” Ronnie says, taking out the clippers and going at my hairline again.

From "The Skin I'm In" by Sharon G. Flake

Five days later, Mladić strutted into town surrounded by TV camera crews.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

While the popular girls strutted through the halls with their effortless Pinterest-inspired updos, I was applying brown eyeshadow to my scalp to disguise the sparse spots.

From Slate ● May 23, 2026

The MacArthur “genius grant” winner sparkled with sartorial edge as he strutted across the stage in a white tuxedo shirt to discuss his book “Emperor of Gladness.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

As he strutted into the UConn locker room after the game, he had his arm slung around Mullins’s shoulders and only one word on his mind.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026

The children strutted and shouted as they ran about in the wet sand.

From "Son" by Lois Lowry

“And then there’s some funny stuff too,” Dan explained, strutting around the store, with a sense of importance.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

Yet, it was no hallucination to see Vin Diesel strutting the red carpet in a custom blazer with rhinestones spelling out “Fast Forever,” the 11th and final installment, scheduled to be released in 2028.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026

New Yorkers can’t get enough of the strutting woodcock.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 2026

He used to build his rosters by strutting up to future NBA stars and convincing them to head from high school to his training camps in Kentucky.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 21, 2026

As we went to the other side of the house, a brown- and-white-speckled rooster came strutting to meet us.

From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz

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Related Words

• prance
• sashay
• stalk
• stride
• swagger

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