Word Frequency
strait (streɪt
)
Definitions
noun
- often plural
- a narrow channel of the sea linking two larger areas of sea
- (capital as part of a name) ⇒
the Strait of Gibraltar
- often plural a position of acute difficulty (often in the phrase in dire or desperate straits)
- (archaic) a narrow place or passage
adjective
(archaic)- (of spaces, etc) affording little room
- (of circumstances, etc) limiting or difficult
- severe, strict, or scrupulous
Derived Forms
ˈstraitly adverbˈstraitness noun
Word Origin
C13: from Old French estreit narrow, from Latin strictus constricted, from stringere to bind tightlySynonyms
View thesaurus entry = difficulty, crisis, mess, pass, hole, emergency, distress, dilemma, embarrassment, plight, hardship, uphill, predicament, extremity, perplexity, panic stations, pretty or fine kettle of fish
Example Sentences Including 'straits'
'You are, as I remember the cricket commentators used to say, in dire straits.YESTERDAY'S SHADOW (2002)
But since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, the entire airline industry has been in dire straits.Edmonton Sun (2003)
He said: "This child is clearly in dire straits to start off with.Times, Sunday Times (2002)
MPs now caught in similar straits cannot use that line again.Glasgow Herald (2001)
Reports from Bangalore indicate the firm, backed by eVentures India, is in dire straits.Business Today (2001)
The Japanese people were in desperate straits at the end of the war, relying on American food to save them from starvation.The Collins History of the World in the 20th Century
Their planned course would take them in through the straits between the Scillies and Land's End, past the Wolf Rock.Let Not the Deep
There was a pride about her, even though she was in dire straits.Dreams of Innocence
Yet if an Australian traveller is in dire straits overseas and requires an immediate medical evacuation, DFAT can make it happen.The Advertiser, Sunday Mail (2005)
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