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strait

Pronunciation: /streɪt/
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Definition of strait

noun

  • 1 (also straits) a narrow passage of water connecting two seas or two other large areas of water: [in place names]:the Straits of Gibraltar
  • 2 (straits) used in reference to a situation characterized by a specified degree of trouble or difficulty:the economy is in dire straits redundancy left him in severe financial straits

adjective

archaic
  • (of a place) of limited spatial capacity; narrow or cramped:the road was so strait that a handful of men might have defended it
  • close, strict, or rigorous:my captivity was strait as ever

Derivatives

straitly

adverb

straitness

noun

Origin:

Middle English: shortening of Old French estreit 'tight, narrow', from Latin strictus 'drawn tight' (see strict)

strait in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of strait in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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