strainer

US/ˈstɹeɪnɚ/

nounB1+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,226 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: strainers

A strainer is a mesh cup that holds solids back and lets liquid through. A tea strainer, pour it through the strainer, a fine strainer.

It catches what you do not want where a sieve separates by size, and the two words are used loosely for each other. A fine one lined with cloth will clear a stock completely, which is the difference between a homemade soup and a restaurant one.

Definitions of strainer

1nounstrainerA mesh cup that holds solids back and lets liquid through.B1+
“Pour the tea through a strainer to catch the leaves.”
- Said"Use the strainer for the tea, would you? Nobody wants leaves in their mouth."
- WrittenThe strainers caught the seeds and let the juice run clear into the jug.
- UsedHold the strainer over the pot as you tip, and press the solids with a spoon.
- ContrastA strainer, not a sieve. A sieve is for dry things like flour; a strainer is for wet, over a cup. sieve →
- Not thisA colander is not a strainer, though both drain. A strainer is small and fine.
- SimplyPut the strainer on the cup. Then the coffee.
Patterna tea / fine-mesh strainer · pour sth through a strainer · strain · strained

strainer is a utensil.

Remember it

STRAINer → it STRAINs the liquid

It is strain + er: it strains the liquid through its fine metal net and keeps the solid bits back.

hooks ontostrain

Where it comes from

Strain plus -er, from Old French estreindre, from Latin stringere, to draw tight.

Middle English
strener
English, today
strainer

From Middle English strener, streynour, strenyour, equivalent to strain + er.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in In the Kitchen

Practise this word

strainer in the wild

Some teapots have a strainer built-in on the inner edge of the spout.
Teapot
A strainer (see colander), meanwhile, is a form of sieve used to separate suspended solids from a liquid by filtration.
Sieve
A tea strainer is a type of strainer that is placed over or in a teacup to catch loose tea leaves.
Tea strainer
A chinois, also known as a bouillon strainer, is a conical sieve with an extremely fine mesh.
Chinois
A cocktail strainer is a metal bar accessory used to remove ice from a mixed drink as it is poured into the serving glass.
Cocktail strainer

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

strain

Definitions of strainer

1nounstrainerA mesh cup that holds solids back and lets liquid through.B1+

“Pour the tea through a strainer to catch the leaves.”

Said"Use the strainer for the tea, would you? Nobody wants leaves in their mouth."
WrittenThe strainers caught the seeds and let the juice run clear into the jug.
UsedHold the strainer over the pot as you tip, and press the solids with a spoon.
ContrastA strainer, not a sieve. A sieve is for dry things like flour; a strainer is for wet, over a cup. sieve →
Not thisA colander is not a strainer, though both drain. A strainer is small and fine.
SimplyPut the strainer on the cup. Then the coffee.

Patterna tea / fine-mesh strainer · pour sth through a strainer · strain · strained

strainer is a utensil.