strait

noun

Definition of straitnext
1
as in neck
a narrow body of water between two land masses as the ship headed east through the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain was on our left and Africa on our right

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in anguish
often straits plural a state of great suffering of body or mind in great straits over the loss of her mother's cherished necklace

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun strait differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of strait are contingency, crisis, emergency, exigency, juncture, pinch, and straits. While all these words mean "a critical or crucial time or state of affairs," strait, now commonly straits, applies to a troublesome situation from which escape is extremely difficult.

in dire straits

In what contexts can contingency take the place of strait?

In some situations, the words contingency and strait are roughly equivalent. However, contingency implies an emergency or exigency that is regarded as possible but uncertain of occurrence.

contingency plans

When might crisis be a better fit than strait?

The words crisis and strait are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, crisis applies to a juncture whose outcome will make a decisive difference.

a crisis of confidence

When is it sensible to use emergency instead of strait?

The meanings of emergency and strait largely overlap; however, emergency applies to a sudden unforeseen situation requiring prompt action to avoid disaster.

the presence of mind needed to deal with emergencies

Where would exigency be a reasonable alternative to strait?

While the synonyms exigency and strait are close in meaning, exigency stresses the pressure of restrictions or urgency of demands created by a special situation.

provide for exigencies

When would juncture be a good substitute for strait?

The words juncture and strait can be used in similar contexts, but juncture stresses the significant concurrence or convergence of events.

an important juncture in our country's history

How is pinch related to other words for strait?

Pinch implies urgency or pressure for action to a less intense degree than exigency or emergency.

come through in a pinch

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of strait James Irvine, president of the homeowner association at Starlight Ranch, the mobile home park near the airport where Castro lives, said nearly a third of the residents in the 700-home community are senior citizens in similar financial straits. —Michael Cuglietta, Orlando Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2025 Man had one good season (at 18 tbf) and then gets snapped up for €30m with Barca’s finances in absolute dire straits. —Pol Ballús, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025 The health care provider ​of last resort is working to shore up affiliate clinics that are in dire financial straits. —Katie Benner, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2025 The difficult decision made by Gov. Hogan to veto the legislation was necessary because the financial straits the state now finds itself in were predictable. —David Brinkley, Baltimore Sun, 11 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for strait
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strait
  1. neck
  2. anguish
  3. channel
  4. distress
  5. sound
  6. pain
  7. bay
  8. agony
Noun
  • Occasionally, someone dressed it up or made out with it, and people liked to hang Mardi Gras beads around its neck, but nobody made it into a big deal.
    — Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
  • The thyroid is a small gland in the neck that plays a key role in overall health.
    — Chelsea Rae Bourgeois, RDN, LD, Health, 10 Mar. 2025
Definition of neck
Noun
  • The first Trump Administration didn’t deliver many material gains to the rural poor—deaths of despair continued to rise, and wages continued to stagnate—but at least Trump spoke to their anguish and seemed outraged on their behalf.
    — Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025
  • Garcia’s damages included physical pain, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation, inconvenience, grief, disfigurement, physical impairment, anxiety and emotional distress, according to a recording of the verdict from Courtroom View Network.
    — Ramishah Maruf, CNN, 14 Mar. 2025
Definition of anguish
Noun
  • Images shared by pro-Kremlin channels purport to show the Russian soldiers inside the pipelines.
    — William Lambers, Newsweek, 9 Mar. 2025
  • If your boss asks you to buy gift cards or transfer funds, try to confirm in person or via an official company channel.
    — Alex Vakulov, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
Definition of channel
Noun
  • While local authorities have since said the incident spawned from a physical altercation between two attendees, and that firearms were not involved, the resulting melee left at least 10 people with non-life-threatening injuries and numerous claiming emotion distress.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 15 Mar. 2025
  • Garcia’s damages included physical pain, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation, inconvenience, grief, disfigurement, physical impairment, anxiety and emotional distress, according to a recording of the verdict from Courtroom View Network.
    — Ramishah Maruf, CNN, 14 Mar. 2025
Definition of distress
Noun
  • Also heard in the video were the sounds of metal flexing as Habermehl and his bicycle were sent over and off the passenger side of the vehicle, police shared in the news release.
    — Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2025
  • Two different beaches lend themselves to swimming, fishing, or kayaking in the sound.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 18 Mar. 2025
Definition of sound
Noun
  • Symptoms are akin to getting the flu: body aches, fever, abdominal pain.
    — Rick Jervis, USA TODAY, 9 Mar. 2025
  • But the Heat remains without Alec Burks (lower back pain), Josh Christopher (G League), Nikola Jovic (broken right hand) and Dru Smith (left Achilles surgery) against the Bulls.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 9 Mar. 2025
Definition of pain
Noun
  • Cruises Le Commandant Charcot, from expedition cruise company Ponant, now brings travelers through the frozen bays and rivers of Boreal Canada.
    — Paul Brady, Travel + Leisure, 10 Mar. 2025
  • In addition to the A’s, the Raiders recently decamped for Las Vegas and the Warriors moved across the bay to San Francisco.
    — Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Mar. 2025
Definition of bay
Noun
  • Just consider the agony of merging two or more sprawling thickets of technology.
    — Forbes, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
  • The death of this beautiful 12 year old girl and the agony of her mother and family touched our entire nation greatly.
    — NPR, NPR, 5 Mar. 2025
Definition of agony

Browse Nearby Words

strait
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Strait.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strait. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on strait

Nglish: Translation of strait for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular Features

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All