strait

 
Pronunciation: /streɪt/

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)