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strait

UK/stɹeɪt/US/stɹeɪt/
nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,140 of 15,258mostly written

Other forms: straits

A strait is a narrow water passage connecting two seas. The Strait of Gibraltar, through the strait, a narrow strait.

They are the choke points of world trade, which is why so much diplomacy and so many wars turn on a handful of them. It is not the same word as straight, and dire straits means a desperate situation, from the sense of a tight place.

The original uploader was K. Aainsqatsi at English Wikipedia. (Original text: en:User:K. Aainsqatsi) the original author is en:user:Dcoetzee, Image:Strait.png · Public domain

Definitions of strait

  1. 1nounstraitA narrow water passage connecting two seas.C1

    “Ferries cross the strait between England and France many times a day.”

strait is a passage.

Also accepted in games: channel

Where it comes from

Old French estreit comes from Latin strictus, drawn tight, from stringere. Strict is a relative.

  1. Latin

    strictus

  2. Old French

    estreit

  3. Middle English

    streit

  4. English, today

    strait

Built from

  • stringō · Latin — compress, tighten

From Middle English streit, from Old French estreit (modern form étroit), from Latin strictus, perfect passive participle of stringō (“compress, tighten”). a doublet of stretto and strict.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Nature & Weather

Practise this word

strait in the wild

  • Sections of the shore of the Bosporus in Istanbul have been reinforced with concrete or rubble and those sections of the strait prone to deposition are periodically dredged.

    Bosporus

  • The strait lies in the territorial waters of Morocco, Spain, and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.

    Strait of Gibraltar

  • The strait is about 104 miles long, with a width varying from about 60 mi to 24 mi.

    Strait of Hormuz

  • Before the 2026 Iran War, the strait had not been closed for any extended time during Middle East conflicts, although Iran occasionally threatened to close the strait.

    Strait of Hormuz

  • A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins.

    Strait

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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

the stringō family

prestigiousrestrict

strait — used about once every 18,318 pages · #13,140 · point at the bar for the others