streɪt n. & adj. --n. 1 (in
sing. or pl.) a
narrow passage of
water connecting
two seas or
large bodies of water. 2 (usu. in pl.)
difficulty,
trouble, or
distress (usu. in
dire or
desperate straits). --adj.
archaic 1 narrow,
limited; confined or confining. 2
strict or
rigorous. østrait-laced severely
virtuous; morally
scrupulous;
puritanical. øøstraitly adv. straitness n. [ME streit f. OF estreit
tight, narrow f. L strictus STRICT]