See Also: strait(dictionary)
strait(1)(dictionary)
strait(2)(dictionary)
strait(dictionary)
Messina, Strait of(encyclopedia)
Menai Strait(encyclopedia)
Mandeb, Strait of(encyclopedia)
Malacca, Strait of(encyclopedia)
Magellan, Strait of(encyclopedia)
Luzon Strait(encyclopedia)

strait(2) (iou)



strait noun1. Also straight. ME.
[formed as STRAIT adjective1 & adverb1.]
A time of great need or of awkward, difficult, or distressing circumstances, a difficulty, a fix (now usu. in pl.). Also (now rare or obsolete), a dilemma, a difficult choice. ME.
J. F. Hendry The Rilkes were in dire financial straits. G. Daly There was always room at Cheyne Walk for a fellow artist in straits.
b. gen. Privation, hardship. M19.
sing. & in pl. A narrow confined place, space, or way. Formerly also sing., a narrow lane, alley, or passage. Now rare or obsolete. LME.
b. spec. A narrow passage in the body. arch. M16.
sing. & (usu.) in pl. A narrow passage of water connecting two seas or large bodies of water. Now chiefly in proper names. LME.
Davis Strait, Straits of Gibraltar, Straits of Malacca, etc.
a. A narrow pass or gorge between mountains; a defile, a ravine. LME-L18.
b. A narrow stretch of a river; in pl., narrows. Now rare or obsolete. LME.
c. A narrow strip of land with water on each side, an isthmus. Now poet. rare. M16.
In pl. Cloth of single width. LME-E18.
A tile about half the usual breadth, for a gable end. E18.
Phrases & comb.: Straits-born adjective born in the former Straits Settlements. Straits Chinese a person of Chinese origin born in the former Straits Settlements. straits of time pressure or insufficiency of time. Straits Settlements Hist. the British possessions in the Malay peninsula. up the Straits Nautical slang in the Mediterranean.
? Early forms show confusion with straight.