overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

strait.

Narrow; restricted as to space or room; close.

6 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/stɹeɪt/
  1. Narrow; restricted as to space or room; close.

    archaic
  2. Righteous, strict.

    archaic
    to follow the strait and narrow
  3. Tight; close; tight-fitting.

    obsolete
  4. Close; intimate; near; familiar.

    obsolete
  5. Difficult; distressful.

    obsolete
  6. Parsimonious; stingy; mean.

    obsolete
  7. Obsolete spelling of straight, now a misspelling of straight.

    alt-of · obsolete
Where this word comes from

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

noun/stɹeɪt/
  1. A narrow channel of water connecting two larger bodies of water.

    the Strait of Gibraltar
  2. A narrow pass, passage or street.

  3. A neck of land; an isthmus.

  4. A difficult position.

    in-plural · often
    to be in dire straits
Where this word comes from

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

verb/stɹeɪt/
  1. To confine; put to difficulties.

    obsolete · transitive
  2. To tighten.

    obsolete · transitive
Where this word comes from

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

adv/stɹeɪt/
  1. Strictly; rigorously.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

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

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.