strait

[streyt] /streɪt/
noun
1.
Often, straits. (used with a singular verb) a narrow passage of water connecting two large bodies of water.
2.
Often, straits. a position of difficulty, distress, or need:
Ill and penniless, he was in sad straits indeed.
3.
Archaic. a narrow passage or area.
4.
an isthmus.
adjective, Archaic.
5.
narrow:
Strait is the gate.
6.
affording little space; confined in area.
7.
strict, as in requirements or principles.
Origin
1150-1200; Middle English streit < Old French estreit < Latin strictus past participle of stringere to bind; see strain1
Related forms
straitly, adverb
straitness, noun
Can be confused
straight, strait.
Synonyms
2. exigency, pinch, dilemma, predicament, plight. See emergency.
Antonyms
2. ease.
Examples from the web for strait
  • We tried to give a proof-of-concept based on existing technologies, not a strait jacket.
  • If you take melatonin under the tongue, it goes strait to the blood stream.
  • In such a strait the wisest may well be perplexed, and the boldest staggered.
  • Neither patrolman or bosses, are able to give you a strait answer as to what is wrong with the department.
British Dictionary definitions for strait

strait

/streɪt/
noun
1.
(often pl)
  1. a narrow channel of the sea linking two larger areas of sea
  2. (capital as part of a name): the Strait of Gibraltar
2.
(often pl) a position of acute difficulty (often in the phrase in dire or desperate straits)
3.
(archaic) a narrow place or passage
adjective (archaic)
4.
(of spaces, etc) affording little room
5.
(of circumstances, etc) limiting or difficult
6.
severe, strict, or scrupulous
Derived Forms
straitly, adverb
straitness, noun
Word Origin
C13: from Old French estreit narrow, from Latin strictus constricted, from stringere to bind tightly
Word Origin and History for strait
n.

mid-14c., "narrow, confined space or place," specifically of bodies of water from late 14c., noun use of adjective strait "narrow, strict" (late 13c.), from Old French estreit (French étroit) "tight, close, narrow" (also used as a noun), from Latin strictus, past participle of stringere "bind or draw tight" (see strain (v.)).

Sense of "difficulty, plight" (usually straits) first recorded 1540s. Strait and narrow "conventional way of life" is recorded from mid-14c. (see straight (adj.2)).

strait in Medicine

strait (strāt)
n.
A narrow passage, such as the upper or lower opening of the pelvic canal.

strait in Science
strait
  (strāt)   
A narrow waterway joining two larger bodies of water. The Strait of Gibraltar, for example, connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean.