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View synonyms for strait

strait

[ streyt ]

noun

  1. Often straits. (used with a singular verb) a narrow passage of water connecting two large bodies of water.
  2. Often straits. a position of difficulty, distress, or need:

    Ill and penniless, he was in sad straits indeed.

    Synonyms: plight, predicament, dilemma, pinch, exigency

    Antonyms: ease

  3. Archaic. a narrow passage or area.
  4. an isthmus.


adjective

, Archaic.
  1. narrow:

    Strait is the gate.

  2. affording little space; confined in area.
  3. strict, as in requirements or principles.

strait

/ streɪt /

noun

  1. often plural
    1. a narrow channel of the sea linking two larger areas of sea
    2. ( capital as part of a name )

      the Strait of Gibraltar

  2. often plural a position of acute difficulty (often in the phrase in dire or desperate straits )
  3. archaic.
    a narrow place or passage
“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


adjective

  1. (of spaces, etc) affording little room
  2. (of circumstances, etc) limiting or difficult
  3. severe, strict, or scrupulous
“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

strait

/ strāt /

  1. A narrow waterway joining two larger bodies of water. The Strait of Gibraltar, for example, connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean.


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Derived Forms

  • ˈstraitly, adverb
  • ˈstraitness, noun
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Other Words From

  • straitly adverb
  • straitness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of strait1

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English streit “narrow, a strait,” from Old French estreit “narrow, tight,” from Latin strictus, past participle of stringere “to tighten, bind”; strain 1
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Word History and Origins

Origin of strait1

C13: from Old French estreit narrow, from Latin strictus constricted, from stringere to bind tightly
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Synonym Study

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Example Sentences

The straightest of strait-laced operators – who see search as a powerful and useful customer touchpoint, are tarnished with the same brush as the sketchiest of spammers and scammers who are still alive and well within the industry.

I don’t want to downplay the dire straits that our elementary school kids are facing, but I don’t think taking away resources from middle and high schools kids is the answer — at least not in the numbers they are asking.

Still, with millions of Americans out of work and in increasingly desperate straits, some lawmakers are growing more vocal with their fears about the risks of not reaching an agreement quickly.

Prospect officials never disclosed the plan’s dire straits during the state approval process.

Whatever the cause, the havoc this week leaves some teams, like the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos, in pretty dire straits.

About $10 billion was earmarked to build a bridge across the Kerch Strait, with its unpredictable currents during spring floods.

All were led by William Barents, he of the famous strait, who sought to find a shorter trade route from Europe to China.

And if the Strait of Hormuz were to be blocked by Iran or any other country or entity, oil prices would skyrocket.

“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it,” or so says Matthew 7.

If a conflict with Iran escalated beyond airstrikes to a naval struggle in the Strait of Hormuz, more resources would be diverted.

The children of thy barrenness shall still say in thy ears: The place is too strait for me, make me room to dwell in.

Departure on the fourth voyage, accompanied by a merchant-ship bound through Torres Strait.

Directions for the passage within the reefs through Torres Strait.

And the brave explorer sailed safely through the dangerous strait now named for him.

On the south-side of Clarence Strait the land is low, like the coast to the eastward.

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straining sillstraiten