strait
- strait
strait n 1 Strait, sound, channel, passage, narrows can all denote a long and comparatively narrow stretch of water connecting two larger bodies.
Strait, often as the plural straits with either singular or plural construction, denotes a relatively short and very narrow waterway
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the Strait of Dover connecting the English Channel and the North Sea
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the Straits of Gibraltar connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea
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Sound applies to a longer and more extensive waterway than a strait; the term is often applied to a long passage of water between the mainland and an island or group of islands and therefore at each end opening into the same ocean or sea or arms of the same ocean or sea
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Long Island Sound lying between the Connecticut shore and the north shore of Long Island and connecting the East River and the Atlantic Ocean
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the Chandeleur Sound lying between the southeast coast of Louisiana and the Chandeleur Islands and opening at both ends into the Gulf of Mexico
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Channel is less frequent than strait or sound as a technical term in the sense here considered, but when it is so used it denotes a relatively large sound
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the English Channel between southeastern England and the north coast of France
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the Mozambique Channel between the coast of southeastern Africa and Mozambique Island
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Passage is practically synonymous with channel, denoting a connecting body of water wider than a strait
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Mona Passage between the islands of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico
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Narrows designates a strait or a contracted part of a body of water; it is especially used of the necklike part of a bottle-shaped harbor
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the Narrows of New York harbor
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2 pass, exigency, pinch, emergency, *
juncture, contingency, crisis
Analogous words: *
difficulty, hardship, vicissitude, rigor: perplexity, bewilderment, mystification (see corresponding verbs at PUZZLE): plight, *
predicament, fix, quandary
New Dictionary of Synonyms.
2014.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
Strait — Strait, n.; pl. {Straits}. [OE. straight, streit, OF. estreit, estroit. See {Strait}, a.] 1. A narrow pass or passage. [1913 Webster] He brought him through a darksome narrow strait To a broad gate all built of beaten gold. Spenser. [1913… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Strait — Strait, a. [Compar. {Straiter}; superl. {Straitest}.] [OE. straight, streyt, streit, OF. estreit, estroit, F. [ e]troit, from L. strictus drawn together, close, tight, p. p. of stringere to draw tight. See 2nd {Strait}, and cf. {Strict}.] 1.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Strait — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: George Strait (* 1952), US amerikanischer Musiker George Strait Jr. (George „Bubba“ Strait Jr.; * 1981), US amerikanischer Country Sänger, Songwriter und Rodeocowboy Horace B. Strait (1835–1894), US… … Deutsch Wikipedia
strait — strait·en; strait·ly; strait·ness; strait; strait·laced·ly; strait·laced·ness; … English syllables
strait — [streıt] n [Date: 1300 1400; Origin: strait narrow (13 20 centuries), from Old French estreit, from Latin strictus; STRICT] 1.) also straits [plural] a narrow passage of water between two areas of land, usually connecting two seas ▪ the Bering… … Dictionary of contemporary English
strait — (n.) mid 14c., narrow, confined space or place, specifically of bodies of water from late 14c., noun use of adj. strait narrow, strict (late 13c.), from O.Fr. estreit (Fr. étroit) tight, close, narrow (also used as a noun), from L. strictus, pp.… … Etymology dictionary
Strait — Strait, a. A variant of {Straight}. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Strait — Strait, adv. Strictly; rigorously. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Strait — Strait, v. t. To put to difficulties. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
strait — [n1] crisis, difficulty bewilderment, bind, bottleneck*, choke point*, contingency, crossroad, dilemma, distress, embarrassment, emergency, exigency, extremity, hardship, hole*, mess*, mystification, pass, perplexity, pinch*, plight, predicament … New thesaurus
