Often straits. (used with a singular verb) a narrow passage of water connecting two large bodies of water.
Often straits.a position of difficulty, distress, or need: Ill and penniless, he was in sad straits indeed.
Archaic. a narrow passage or area.
an isthmus.
adjectiveArchaic.
narrow: Strait is the gate.
affording little space; confined in area.
strict, as in requirements or principles.
Origin of strait
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English streit “narrow, a strait,” from Old French estreit “narrow, tight,” from Latin strictus, past participle of stringere “to tighten, bind”; see strain1
Still, with millions of Americans out of work and in increasingly desperate straits, some lawmakers are growing more vocal with their fears about the risks of not reaching an agreement quickly.
Pelosi walks tightrope in stimulus talks amid pressures of election, economy|Rachael Bade, Erica Werner|October 15, 2020|Washington Post
Prospect officials never disclosed the plan’s dire straits during the state approval process.
Investors Extracted $400 Million From a Hospital Chain That Sometimes Couldn’t Pay for Medical Supplies or Gas for Ambulances|by Peter Elkind with Doris Burke|September 30, 2020|ProPublica
Whatever the cause, the havoc this week leaves some teams, like the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos, in pretty dire straits.
Why Our Model Hates The Lakers|Sarah Shachat|September 22, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
And if the Strait of Hormuz were to be blocked by Iran or any other country or entity, oil prices would skyrocket.
Both Candidates Push Myth of Energy Independence|Robert Bryce|November 1, 2012|DAILY BEAST
“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it,” or so says Matthew 7.
The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"|David Yaffe|September 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
If a conflict with Iran escalated beyond airstrikes to a naval struggle in the Strait of Hormuz, more resources would be diverted.
GOP Candidates Are Wrong to Urge a Second Front War in Iran|Bruce Riedel|January 27, 2012|DAILY BEAST
How long will it take, and at what cost, to reopen the strait and keep it open?
Leslie H. Gelb: Think Before Acting on Iran|Leslie H. Gelb|January 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
What of the other states that buy and sell the Gulf oil that moves through the strait?
Leslie H. Gelb: Think Before Acting on Iran|Leslie H. Gelb|January 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The light came in pale and showed the strait inclosure of their little prison.
The Wizard's Son, vol. 3|Margaret Oliphant
And is the strait longas long as to the end of the millpond?
A Little Girl in Old St. Louis|Amanda Minnie Douglas
As soon as one enters this strait, a strong bar is thrown across the passage from behind.
Illustrative Anecdotes of the Animal Kingdom|Samuel Griswold Goodrich
I could see eight vessels, apparently all battleships, lying in line from the entrance up the strait.
New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 2, May, 1915|Various
We must either enter heaven by the strait gate, or not at all.
Practical Religion|John Charles Ryle
British Dictionary definitions for strait
strait
/ (streɪt) /
noun
(often plural)
a narrow channel of the sea linking two larger areas of sea
(capital as part of a name)the Strait of Gibraltar
(often plural)a position of acute difficulty (often in the phrase in direordesperate straits)
archaica narrow place or passage
adjectivearchaic
(of spaces, etc) affording little room
(of circumstances, etc) limiting or difficult
severe, strict, or scrupulous
Derived forms of strait
straitly, adverbstraitness, noun
Word Origin for strait
C13: from Old French estreit narrow, from Latin strictus constricted, from stringere to bind tightly