strait
Americannoun
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(used with a singular verb) Often straits. a narrow passage of water connecting two large bodies of water.
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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
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Archaic. a narrow passage or area.
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an isthmus.
adjective
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narrow.
Strait is the gate.
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affording little space; confined in area.
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strict, as in requirements or principles.
noun
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(often plural)
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a narrow channel of the sea linking two larger areas of sea
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( capital as part of a name )
the Strait of Gibraltar
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(often plural) a position of acute difficulty (often in the phrase in dire or desperate straits )
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archaic a narrow place or passage
adjective
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(of spaces, etc) affording little room
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(of circumstances, etc) limiting or difficult
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severe, strict, or scrupulous
Related Words
See emergency.
Other Word Forms
- straitly adverb
- straitness noun
Etymology
Origin of strait
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
According to OPIS’ Energy Markets team, 26% of the crude oil trade and 23% of liquefied natural gas goes through the strait, and a prolonged closure could cause oil prices to surge even higher.
From Barron's
Ships on Saturday received Iranian radio warnings not to enter the strait, according to crews operating in the region and Aspides, the European Union’s naval command.
The strait is crucial because it allows cargo ships to pass the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, facilitating the production and flow of crude oil from the Middle East.
From MarketWatch
Aston Martin are in such dire straits that there is a significant question mark about which of the two will be slowest in Melbourne.
From BBC
Facing a tricky chase of 165 against Pakistan at the Pallekele stadium in Kandy, England could have been in dire straits when they lost Phil Salt first ball of the innings.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
