Strait

Strait
Strait Strait, n.; pl. {Straits}. [OE. straight, streit, OF. estreit, estroit. See {Strait}, a.] 1. A narrow pass or passage. [1913 Webster]

He brought him through a darksome narrow strait To a broad gate all built of beaten gold. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]

Honor travels in a strait so narrow Where one but goes abreast. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

We steered directly through a large outlet which they call a strait, though it be fifteen miles broad. --De Foe. [1913 Webster]

3. A neck of land; an isthmus. [R.] [1913 Webster]

A dark strait of barren land. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]

4. Fig.: A condition of narrowness or restriction; doubt; distress; difficulty; poverty; perplexity; -- sometimes in the plural; as, reduced to great straits. [1913 Webster]

For I am in a strait betwixt two. --Phil. i. 23. [1913 Webster]

Let no man, who owns a Providence, grow desperate under any calamity or strait whatsoever. --South. [1913 Webster]

Ulysses made use of the pretense of natural infirmity to conceal the straits he was in at that time in his thoughts. --Broome. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • 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

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