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n. often straits 1. A narrow channel joining two larger bodies of water: straits that were treacherous; the Strait of Gibraltar; the Bosporus Straits. 2. A position of difficulty, perplexity, distress, or need: in desperate straits. adj. Archaic 1. a. Difficult; stressful. b. Having or marked by limited funds or resources. 2. a. Narrow or confined. b. Fitting tightly; constricted. 3. Strict, rigid, or righteous. [Middle English streit, narrow, a strait, from Old French estreit, tight, narrow, from Latin strictus, past participle of stringere, to draw tight; see streig- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] straitly adv. straitness n. |
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