Strait
- Strait
- Strait Strait, n.; pl. {Straits}. [OE. straight, streit, OF.
estreit, estroit. See {Strait}, a.]
1. A narrow pass or passage.
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He brought him through a darksome narrow strait
To a broad gate all built of beaten gold. --Spenser.
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Honor travels in a strait so narrow
Where one but goes abreast. --Shak.
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2. Specifically: (Geog.) A (comparatively) narrow passageway
connecting two large bodies of water; -- often in the
plural; as, the strait, or straits, of Gibraltar; the
straits of Magellan; the strait, or straits, of Mackinaw.
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We steered directly through a large outlet which
they call a strait, though it be fifteen miles
broad. --De Foe.
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3. A neck of land; an isthmus. [R.]
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A dark strait of barren land. --Tennyson.
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4. Fig.: A condition of narrowness or restriction; doubt;
distress; difficulty; poverty; perplexity; -- sometimes in
the plural; as, reduced to great straits.
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For I am in a strait betwixt two. --Phil. i. 23.
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Let no man, who owns a Providence, grow desperate
under any calamity or strait whatsoever. --South.
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Ulysses made use of the pretense of natural
infirmity to conceal the straits he was in at that
time in his thoughts. --Broome.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
2000.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
Strait — Strait, a. [Compar. {Straiter}; superl. {Straitest}.] [OE. straight, streyt, streit, OF. estreit, estroit, F. [ e]troit, from L. strictus drawn together, close, tight, p. p. of stringere to draw tight. See 2nd {Strait}, and cf. {Strict}.] 1.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
strait — n 1 Strait, sound, channel, passage, narrows can all denote a long and comparatively narrow stretch of water connecting two larger bodies. Strait, often as the plural straits with either singular or plural construction, denotes a relatively short … New Dictionary of Synonyms
Strait — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: George Strait (* 1952), US amerikanischer Musiker George Strait Jr. (George „Bubba“ Strait Jr.; * 1981), US amerikanischer Country Sänger, Songwriter und Rodeocowboy Horace B. Strait (1835–1894), US… … Deutsch Wikipedia
strait — strait·en; strait·ly; strait·ness; strait; strait·laced·ly; strait·laced·ness; … English syllables
strait — [streıt] n [Date: 1300 1400; Origin: strait narrow (13 20 centuries), from Old French estreit, from Latin strictus; STRICT] 1.) also straits [plural] a narrow passage of water between two areas of land, usually connecting two seas ▪ the Bering… … Dictionary of contemporary English
strait — (n.) mid 14c., narrow, confined space or place, specifically of bodies of water from late 14c., noun use of adj. strait narrow, strict (late 13c.), from O.Fr. estreit (Fr. étroit) tight, close, narrow (also used as a noun), from L. strictus, pp.… … Etymology dictionary
Strait — Strait, a. A variant of {Straight}. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Strait — Strait, adv. Strictly; rigorously. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Strait — Strait, v. t. To put to difficulties. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
strait — [n1] crisis, difficulty bewilderment, bind, bottleneck*, choke point*, contingency, crossroad, dilemma, distress, embarrassment, emergency, exigency, extremity, hardship, hole*, mess*, mystification, pass, perplexity, pinch*, plight, predicament … New thesaurus
