Adjacent Words

Straw definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

STRAW, n. [G., L. See Strew.]
1. The stalk or stem of certain species of grain, pulse, etc. Chiefly of wheat, rye, oats, barley, buckwheat and peas. When used of single stalks, it admits of a plural, straws. Straws may show which way the wind blows. We say of grain while growing, the straw is large, or it is rusty.
2. A mass of the stalks of certain species of grain when cut, and after being thrashed; as a bundle or a load of straw. In this sense, the word admits not the plural number.
3. Any thing proverbially worthless. I care not a straw for the play. I will not abate a straw.
STRAW, v.t. To spread or scatter. [See Strew and Strow.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: of a pale yellow color like straw; straw-colored n
1: plant fiber used e.g. for making baskets and hats or as fodder
2: material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds [syn: chaff, husk, shuck, stalk, straw, stubble]
3: a variable yellow tint; dull yellow, often diluted with white [syn: pale yellow, straw, wheat]
4: a thin paper or plastic tube used to suck liquids into the mouth [syn: straw, drinking straw] v
1: cover or provide with or as if with straw; "cows were strawed to weather the snowstorm"
2: spread by scattering ("straw" is archaic); "strew toys all over the carpet" [syn: strew, straw]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English str?aw; akin to Old High German str? straw, Old English strewian to strew Date: before 12th century 1. a. stalks of grain after threshing; broadly dry stalky plant residue used like grain straw (as for bedding or packing) b. a natural or artificial heavy fiber used for weaving, plaiting, or braiding 2. a dry coarse stem especially of a cereal grass 3. a. (1) something of small worth or significance (2) something too insubstantial to provide support or help in a desperate situation <clutching at straws> b. chaff 2 4. a. something (as a hat) made of straw b. a tube (as of paper, plastic, or glass) for sucking up a beverage • strawy adjective II. adjective Date: 15th century 1. made of straw <a straw hat> 2. of, relating to, or used for straw <a straw barn> 3. of the color of straw <straw hair> 4. of little or no value ; worthless 5. of, relating to, resembling, or being a straw man 6. of, relating to, or concerned with the discovery of preferences by means of a straw vote

Britannica Concise

Stalks of grasses, particularly cereal grasses such as wheat, oats, rye, barley, and buckwheat. Used collectively, the term means stalks aggregated into bales or piles after the drying and threshing of grain. Since ancient times, humans have used straw as litter and fodder for cattle, as a covering for floors, for coarse bedding, and even as clothing. It can also be woven into baskets, hats, floor mats, and furniture coverings. Thatched roofs consist of straw laid down approximately 1 ft (30 cm) thick and secured by strong cords, with the fibers running in the direction to be taken by rainwater. Chemically pulped straw is used in the manufacture of coarse paper and strawboard, a cardboard for cheap paper boxes.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 dry cut stalks of grain for use as fodder or as material for thatching, packing, making hats, etc. 2 a single stalk or piece of straw. 3 a thin hollow paper or plastic tube for sucking drink from a glass etc. 4 an insignificant thing (not worth a straw). 5 the pale yellow colour of straw. 6 a straw hat. Phrases and idioms: catch (or grasp) at a straw resort to an utterly inadequate expedient in desperation, like a person drowning. straw boss US an assistant foreman. straw-colour pale yellow. straw-coloured of pale yellow. straw in the wind a slight hint of future developments. straw vote (or poll) an unofficial ballot as a test of opinion. straw-worm a caddis-worm. Derivatives: strawy adj. Etymology: OE streaw f. Gmc, rel. to STREW

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Straw Straw, v. t. To spread or scatter. See Strew, and Strow. --Chaucer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Straw Straw, n. [OE. straw, stre, stree, AS. stre['a]w, from the root of E. strew; akin to OFries. str[=e], D. stroo, G. stroh, OHG. str[=o], Icel. str[=a], Dan. straa, Sw. str[*a]. [root]166. See Strew.] 1. A stalk or stem of certain species of grain, pulse, etc., especially of wheat, rye, oats, barley, more rarely of buckwheat, beans, and pease. 2. The gathered and thrashed stalks of certain species of grain, etc.; as, a bundle, or a load, of rye straw. 3. Anything proverbially worthless; the least possible thing; a mere trifle. I set not a straw by thy dreamings. --Chaucer. Note: Straw is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, straw-built, straw-crowned, straw-roofed, straw-stuffed, and the like. Man of straw, an effigy formed by stuffing the garments of a man with straw; hence, a fictitious person; an irresponsible person; a puppet.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(straws) 1. Straw consists of the dried, yellowish stalks from crops such as wheat or barley. The barn was full of bales of straw... ...a wide-brimmed straw hat. 2. A straw is a thin tube of paper or plastic, which you use to suck a drink into your mouth. ...a bottle of lemonade with a straw in it. N-COUNT 3. If you are clutching at straws or grasping at straws, you are trying unusual or extreme ideas or methods because other ideas or methods have failed. ...a badly thought-out scheme from a Government clutching at straws. PHRASE: V inflects 4. If an event is the last straw or the straw that broke the camel's back, it is the latest in a series of unpleasant or undesirable events, and makes you feel that you cannot tolerate a situation any longer. For him the Church's decision to allow the ordination of women had been the last straw... PHRASE: usu v-link PHR 5. If you draw the short straw, you are chosen from a number of people to perform a job or duty that you will not enjoy. ...if a few of your guests have drawn the short straw and agreed to drive others home after your summer barbecue. PHRASE: usu v PHR

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Used in brick-making (Ex. 5:7-18). Used figuratively in Job 41:27; Isa. 11:7; 25:10; 65:25.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Stalk, stem or culm (of grain after being thrashed). 2. Fig, pin, button, rush, penny, farthing, snap. II. v. a. See strew.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A good woman in the straw; a lying-in woman. His eyes draw straw; his eyes are almost shut, or he is almost asleep: one eye draws straw, and t'other serves the thatcher.

Moby Thesaurus

a continental, a curse, a damn, a darn, a hoot, adjutage, afterglow, afterimage, air, anthrophore, aureate, auric, axis, bagatelle, balance, barley, bauble, bean, beige, bestrew, bibelot, bird seed, bit, bole, bran, brass farthing, broadcast, bubble, buff, buff-yellow, butt, butt end, button, canary, canary-yellow, candle ends, cane, carpophore, cat food, catheter, caudex, caulicle, caulis, cent, chaff, chicken feed, chip, chop, citron, citron-yellow, cobweb, cork, corn, cream, creamy, culm, curio, debris, detritus, disseminate, dog food, down, drainpipe, dust, eatage, ecru, efflux tube, end, ensilage, ether, fag end, fairy, fallow, farce, farthing, feather, feed, fig, filings, fire hose, flaxen, fleabite, flue, flue pipe, fluff, foam, fodder, folderol, footstalk, forage, fossil, fribble, frippery, froth, funicule, funiculus, funnel, fuzz, garden hose, gas pipe, gaud, gewgaw, gilded, gilt, gimcrack, gold, gold-colored, golden, gossamer, grain, hair, halfpenny, haulm, hay, hill of beans, holdover, hose, hosepipe, husks, jest, joke, kickshaw, knickknack, knickknackery, leafstalk, leavings, leftovers, lemon, lemon-yellow, luteolous, lutescent, mash, meal, minikin, mockery, molehill, mote, nipple, oats, ocherish, ocherous, ochery, ochreous, ochroid, ochrous, ochry, odds and ends, offscourings, or, organ pipe, orts, parings, pasturage, pasture, pedicel, peduncle, peppercorn, pet food, petiole, petiolule, petiolus, picayune, pin, pinch of snuff, pinprick, pipe, pipeline, pipette, piping, primrose, primrose-colored, primrose-yellow, provender, rags, rap, red cent, reed, reed pipe, refuse, relics, remainder, remains, remnant, residue, residuum, rest, roach, row of pins, rubbish, ruins, rump, rush, saffron, saffron-colored, saffron-yellow, sallow, sand-colored, sandy, sawdust, scatter, scourings, scraps, scratch, scratch feed, seedstalk, shadow, shavings, shit, siamese, siamese connection, silage, siphon, slops, snap, sneeshing, snorkel, soil pipe, sou, sow, spear, spire, sponge, spume, stalk, standpipe, steam pipe, stem, stipe, stock, straw-colored, stubble, stump, survival, sweepings, swill, tap, thistledown, tigella, toy, trace, trifle, trinket, tube, tubing, tubulation, tubule, tubulet, tubulure, tuppence, two cents, twopence, vestige, waste, waste pipe, water pipe, wheat, whim-wham, xanthic, xanthous, yellow, yellowish