strop

1 of 2

noun

ˈsträp

Synonyms of strop

: strap:

: a short rope with its ends spliced to form a circle

: a usually leather band for sharpening a razor

strop

2 of 2

verb

stropped; stropping

transitive verb

: to sharpen (a razor) on a strop

Examples of strop in a Sentence

Verb at the museum they showed us how men used to strop razors with leather bands before the days of disposable blades

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Noun

Once upon a time, Ronaldo would have been prone to a strop — comically throwing his toys out of the pram and throwing his arms about as his team-mates looked on at one of the greatest players ever losing his head. —Elias Burke, The Athletic, 18 Aug. 2024

The bold combo is accented with a tri-color racing strip down its middle and a Rosso Mars red strop that runs along the bottom of the supercar and around its rear diffuser. —Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 21 Nov. 2023 Then, move on to the rotating ceramic rod, one side rough and the other smooth, and finish with the leather strop. —Jim Cobb, Field & Stream, 21 Sep. 2023 However, additional tools like a strop can further refine and maintain the edge. —Craig Caudill, Field & Stream, 13 July 2023 This model has five separate stages, working from 200 grit and 600 grit diamond plates to the rough and smooth sides of the ceramic rod, then finally to the leather strop. —Jim Cobb, Field & Stream, 3 May 2023 All that’s needed at this point is to run it on a strop a few times to straighten that microscopic edge. —Jim Cobb, Field & Stream, 3 May 2023 Mine may be better used as a razor strop. —Washington Post, 29 Nov. 2021 Within a day, C.L. Netherland, a massacre survivor and minister whose barber shop at 110 Greenwood Avenue was destroyed, purchased a folding chair, a strop and razor, and set up shop on a sidewalk. —New York Times, 24 May 2021

Verb

To strop, draw your knife backward from heel to tip. —Craig Caudill, Field & Stream, 13 July 2023 The Department of Transportation said the policy was in response to Beijing's refusal to allow a resumption of flights to China by U.S. carriers that stropped flying to China due to U.S. coronavirus restrictions. —Harold Maass, TheWeek, 4 June 2020 Sometimes a leafy twig is selected, and before this can be used the chimpanzee has to strop off the leaves. —National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2019 There’s little thunder, no off-piste mental excursions, no sense of a writer stropping his razor. —New York Times, 9 July 2018

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English — more at strap

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1837, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of strop was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Browse Nearby Words

stroot

strop

stroph-

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Strop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strop. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

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Kids Definition

strop

1 of 2 noun

ˈsträp

: a usually leather band for sharpening a razor

strop

2 of 2 verb

stropped; stropping

: to sharpen on a strop

strop a razor

strop

noun

verb

Synonyms

Examples of strop in a Sentence

Word History

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

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strop

noun

verb

Synonyms

Examples of strop in a Sentence

Word History

Rhymes for strop

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Share

Kids Definition

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