Adjacent Words

Strait definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

STRAIT, a. [See Straight.]
1. Narrow; close; not broad.
Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth to life, and few there be that find it. Matthew 7.
2. Close; intimate; as a strait degree of favor.
3. Strict; rigorous.
He now, forsooth, takes on him to reform some certain edicts, and some strait decrees.
4. Difficult; distressful.
5. Straight; not crooked.
STRAIT, n. [See Straight.]
1. A narrow pass or passage, either in a mountain or in the ocean, between continents or other portions of land; as the straits of Gibraltar; the straits of Magellan; the straits of Dover. [In this sense, the plural is more generally used than the singular, and often without any apparent reason or propriety.]
2. Distress; difficulty; distressing necessity; formerly written streight. [Used either in the singular or plural.]
Let no man who owns a providence, become desperate under any calamity or strait whatsoever.
Ulysses made use of the pretense of natural infirmity to conceal the straits he was in at that time in his thoughts.
STRAIT, v.t. To put to difficulties. [Not in use.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: narrow; "strait is the gate" n
1: a narrow channel of the sea joining two larger bodies of water [syn: strait, sound]
2: a bad or difficult situation or state of affairs [syn: pass, strait, straits]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French estreit, from Latin strictus strait, strict, from past participle of stringere Date: 13th century 1. archaic strict, rigorous 2. archaic a. narrow b. limited in space or time c. closely fitting ; constricted, tight 3. a. causing distress ; difficult b. limited as to means or resources • straitly adverb • straitness noun II. adverb Date: 13th century obsolete in a close or tight manner III. noun Date: 14th century 1. a. archaic a narrow space or passage b. a comparatively narrow passageway connecting two large bodies of water — often used in plural but sing. in constr. c. isthmus 2. a situation of perplexity or distress — often used in plural <in dire straits> Synonyms: see juncture

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. 1 (in sing. or pl.) a narrow passage of water connecting two seas or large bodies of water. 2 (usu. in pl.) difficulty, trouble, or distress (usu. in dire or desperate straits). --adj. archaic 1 narrow, limited; confined or confining. 2 strict or rigorous. Phrases and idioms: strait-laced severely virtuous; morally scrupulous; puritanical. Derivatives: straitly adv. straitness n. Etymology: ME streit f. OF estreit tight, narrow f. L strictus STRICT

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Strait Strait, a. A variant of Straight. [Obs.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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. Narrow; not broad. Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. --Matt. vii. 14. Too strait and low our cottage doors. --Emerson. 2. Tight; close; closely fitting. --Shak. 3. Close; intimate; near; familiar. [Obs.] ``A strait degree of favor.'' --Sir P. Sidney. 4. Strict; scrupulous; rigorous. Some certain edicts and some strait decrees. --Shak. The straitest sect of our religion. --Acts xxvi. 5 (Rev. Ver.). 5. Difficult; distressful; straited. To make your strait circumstances yet straiter. --Secker. 6. Parsimonious; niggargly; mean. [Obs.] I beg cold comfort, and you are so strait, And so ingrateful, you deny me that. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Strait Strait, v. t. To put to difficulties. [Obs.] --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Strait Strait, adv. Strictly; rigorously. [Obs.] --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Strait Strait, n.; pl. Straits. [OE. straight, streit, OF. estreit, estroit. See Strait, a.] 1. A narrow pass or passage. He brought him through a darksome narrow strait To a broad gate all built of beaten gold. --Spenser. Honor travels in a strait so narrow Where one but goes abreast. --Shak. 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. We steered directly through a large outlet which they call a strait, though it be fifteen miles broad. --De Foe. 3. A neck of land; an isthmus. [R.] A dark strait of barren land. --Tennyson. 4. Fig.: A condition of narrowness or restriction; doubt; distress; difficulty; poverty; perplexity; -- sometimes in the plural; as, reduced to great straits. For I am in a strait betwixt two. --Phil. i. 23. Let no man, who owns a Providence, grow desperate under any calamity or strait whatsoever. --South. Ulysses made use of the pretense of natural infirmity to conceal the straits he was in at that time in his thoughts. --Broome.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(straits) 1. You can refer to a narrow strip of sea which joins two large areas of sea as a strait or the straits. An estimated 1600 vessels pass through the strait annually. ...the Straits of Gibraltar. N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES 2. If someone is in dire or desperate straits, they are in a very difficult situation, usually because they do not have much money. The company's closure has left many small businessmen in desperate financial straits. N-PLURAL: adj N

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Narrow, close, contracted, constricted, constrained, confined. 2. Strict, rigorous, rigid, severe. 3. Difficult, distressful, straitened, grievous. II. a. 1. Narrow pass (especially between two seas), gut, narrows. 2. Distress, difficulty, perplexity, dilemma, embarrassment, pinch, exigency, emergency, critical situation, distressing necessity, pass.

Moby Thesaurus

angustifoliate, angustirostrate, angustisellate, angustiseptal, arm, armlet, bay, bayou, belt, bight, bind, boca, bottleneck, bound, bounded, box, breakers ahead, canal, cardhouse, cause for alarm, channel, circumscribed, climacteric, close, close-fitting, clutch, complication, conditioned, confined, confining, constricted, contingency, convergence of events, copyrighted, cove, cramp, cramped, creek, crisis, critical juncture, critical point, crossroads, crowded, crucial period, crunch, danger, dangerous ground, defile, demanding, difficult, dilemma, disciplined, embarrassing position, embarrassment, emergency, endangerment, estuary, euripus, exacting, exigency, extremity, fine how-do-you-do, finite, fjord, frith, gaping chasm, gathering clouds, gulf, gut, harbor, hazard, hell to pay, hinge, hobble, hot water, house of cards, how-do-you-do, imbroglio, imperilment, incapacious, incommodious, inlet, isthmian, isthmic, isthmus, jam, jeopardy, kyle, limited, limiting, loch, meager, menace, mess, mix, moderated, morass, mouth, narrow, narrow seas, narrows, natural harbor, near, neck, parlous straits, pass, patented, peril, perplexity, pickle, pinch, plight, predicament, prescribed, pretty pass, pretty pickle, pretty predicament, proscribed, push, quagmire, qualified, quicksand, reach, restricted, restricting, rigorous, risk, road, roads, roadstead, rocks ahead, rub, scant, scanty, scrape, slender, slough, sound, spot, squeeze, stew, sticky wicket, storm clouds, straitened, straits, swamp, thin ice, threat, throat, tight, tight spot, tight squeeze, tightrope, tricky spot, trouble, turn, turning, turning point, unholy mess