What does "strait" mean?
A narrow channel of water connecting two larger bodies of water.
Strait
/stɹeɪt/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb
adj, adv, name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A narrow channel of water connecting two larger bodies of water.
- Grammar: strait is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: angustifoliate, angustirostrate, angustisellate, angustiseptal.
- Useful contrasts: affluent, broad, ease.
- Usage evidence: At this point the sea narrows into a strait.
How to use "strait"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "strait" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "strait" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "strait" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "strait" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "strait" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "angustifoliate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "strait", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A narrow channel of water connecting two larger bodies of water.
"the Strait of Gibraltar"
- 2 a narrow channel of the sea joining two larger bodies of water wordnet
- 3 A narrow pass, passage or street.
"He brought him through a darksom narrow strayt, To a broad gate all built of beaten gold:"
- 4 a bad or difficult situation or state of affairs wordnet
- 5 A neck of land; an isthmus.
"The bold Sir Bedivere uplifted him, Sir Bedivere, the last of all his knights, And bore him to a chapel nigh the field, A broken chancel with a broken cross, That stood on a dark strait of barren land."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A difficult position. in-plural, often
"to be in dire straits"
Verb
- 1 To confine; put to difficulties. obsolete, transitive
"After Bardus, the Celtes […] were in short tyme, and with small labour broughte vnder the subiection of the Giaunt Albion, the sonne of Neptune, who altering the state of things here in this yland, straited the name of Celtica and the Celtes within the boundes of Gallia […]"
- 2 To tighten. obsolete, transitive
Adjective
- 1 Narrow; restricted as to space or room; close. archaic
"Sweet oil was poured out on thy head And ran down like cool rain between The strait close locks it melted in."
- 2 Righteous, strict. archaic
"to follow the strait and narrow"
- 3 Tight; close; tight-fitting. obsolete
"Palamon. […] Stay a little, Is not this peece too streight? Arcite. No, no, tis well."
- 4 Close; intimate; near; familiar. obsolete
"After the noble Prince Leonatus had by his fathers death succeeded in the kingdome of Galatia, he (forgetting all former iniuries) had receiued that naughtie Plexirtus into a streight degree of fauour […]"
- 5 Difficult; distressful. obsolete
"18th c., Thomas Secker, Sermons on Several Subjects, 2nd edition, 1771, Volume III, Sermon XI, p. 253, But to make your strait Circumstances yet straiter, for the Sake of idle Gratifications, and distress yourselves in Necessaries, only to indulge in Trifles and Vanities, delicate Food, shewish Dress, ensnaring Diversions, is every Way wrong."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Parsimonious; stingy; mean. obsolete
"[…] I do not ask you much, I beg cold comfort; and you are so strait And so ingrateful, you deny me that."
- 7 Obsolete spelling of straight, now a misspelling of straight. alt-of, obsolete
"A strait Line over a Vowel denotes the Omission of the Letter m or n following: quā--quam‖nō--non‖[…] […] The strait Line over m in the Middle of a Word denotes the Omission of the Letter n following: om̄es--omnes‖om̄ia--omnia"
Adjective
- 1 narrow wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Strictly; rigorously. obsolete
"Lords, take your places; and, I pray you all, Proceed no straiter ’gainst our uncle Gloucester Than from true evidence of good esteem He be approved in practise culpable."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"At this point the sea narrows into a strait."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "strait"?
Common synonyms include: angustifoliate, angustirostrate, angustisellate, angustiseptal, arm, armlet.
How do you use "strait" in a sentence?
At this point the sea narrows into a strait.
How do you pronounce "strait"?
Pronounced /stɹeɪt/.
Etymology
From Middle English streit, from Old French estreit (modern form étroit), from Latin strictus, perfect passive participle of stringō (“compress, tighten”). Doublet of stretto and strict.