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Definition of strait noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

strait

noun
 
/streɪt/
 
/streɪt/
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  1. (also straits)
     [plural] (especially in the names of places) a narrow passage of water that connects two seas or large areas of water
    • the Strait(s) of Gibraltar
    Extra Examples
    • Many hundreds of vessels pass through the straits each year.
    • The oil terminal is in the narrow strait that separates the island from the mainland.
    • The town is on the straits between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
    • a ship anchored in the Straits of Hormuz
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • narrow
    verb + strait
    • go through
    • pass through
    • enter
    • …
    strait + verb
    • separate something
    preposition
    • across the strait
    • in the strait
    • on the strait
    • …
    See full entry
  2. straits
     [plural] a very difficult situation especially because of lack of money
    • The factory is in dire straits.
    • She found herself in desperate financial straits.
    • The business is in dire financial straits.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • desperate
    • dire
    • serious
    • …
    preposition
    • in strait
    See full entry
    3. Word OriginMiddle English: shortening of Old French estreit ‘tight, narrow’, from Latin strictus ‘drawn tight’, past participle of stringere ‘tighten, draw tight’.
See strait in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: strait

Nearby words

sufficiently
adverb
 
 
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