strand

¹

[ strand ]

verb (used with object)

1. to drive or leave (a ship, fish, etc.) aground or ashore:

   The receding tide stranded the whale.

2. (usually used in the passive) to bring into or leave in a helpless position:

   He was stranded in the middle of nowhere.

verb (used without object)

1. to be driven or left ashore; run aground.
2. to be halted or struck by a difficult situation:

   He stranded in the middle of his speech.

noun

1. the land bordering the sea, a lake, or a river; shore; beach.

strand

²

[ strand ]

noun

1. one of a number of fibers, threads, or yarns that are plaited or twisted together to form a rope, cord, or the like.
2. a similar part of a wire rope.
3. a rope made of such twisted or plaited fibers.
4. a fiber or filament, as in animal or plant tissue:

   a single strand of messenger RNA.

5. a thread or threadlike part of anything:

   the strands of a plot.

6. a tress of hair.
7. a string of pearls, beads, etc.

verb (used with object)

1. to form (a rope, cable, etc.) by twisting strands together.
2. to break one or more strands of (a rope).

Strand

³

[ strand ]

noun

1. Mark, 1934–2014, U.S. poet, born in Canada: U.S. poet laureate 1990–91.
2. Paul, 1890–1976, U.S. photographer and documentary-film producer.
3. the, a street parallel to the Thames, in W central London, England: famous for hotels and theaters.

strand

¹

/ strænd /

noun

1. a set of or one of the individual fibres or threads of string, wire, etc, that form a rope, cable, etc
2. a single length of string, hair, wool, wire, etc
3. a string of pearls or beads
4. a constituent element in a complex whole

   one strand of her argument

verb

1. tr to form (a rope, cable, etc) by winding strands together

strand

²

/ strænd /

verb

1. to leave or drive (ships, fish, etc) aground or ashore or (of ships, fish, etc) to be left or driven ashore
2. tr; usually passive to leave helpless, as without transport or money, etc

noun

1. a shore or beach
2. a foreign country

Strand

³

/ strænd /

noun

1. the Strand
   the Strand a street in W central London, parallel to the Thames: famous for its hotels and theatres

Other Words From

• strand·less adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of strand¹

First before 1000; Middle English noun strond(e), strand(e), Old English strand; cognate with Dutch strand, German Strand, Old Norse strǫnd; akin to strew

Origin of strand²

First recorded in 1490–1500; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of strand¹

C15: of uncertain origin

Origin of strand²

Old English; related to Old Norse strönd side, Middle High German strant beach, Latin sternere to spread

Example Sentences

You can strip the red strand from a cut piece of cordage to yield flammable tinder, or leave it in place to help a strand of 550 burn even better.

From Popular-Science

Those electrons move through the protein strands, ending up on iron in the mud.

From Science News For Students

One major barrier to inserting these incredibly tiny wires, which are thinner than a strand of human hair, is actually getting them past the skull and into the brain.

From Vox

When the look-alike is incorporated into a growing strand of RNA, it stops production of the genetic molecule and keeps the virus from replicating.

From Science News

Rather than sponsoring a stage, brands like investment consultants Macro Advisory Partners and investment management firm Netwealth are sponsoring content strands.

From Digiday

Using standard methods, the cost of printing DNA could run upwards of a billion dollars or more, depending on the strand.

From The Daily Beast

Later in the film, when she comes on wearing a strand of pearls, he snorts, “She looks like the queen.”

From The Daily Beast

The beads are also a risk in and of themselves if the strand breaks.

From The Daily Beast

A loose strand across my forearm in the morning, later one at my desk.

From The Daily Beast

That's why Britain, as a nation, can't handle it when a strand is out of place.

From The Daily Beast

It had come on to rain, and the raw dampness mingled itself with the dusky uproar of the Strand.

From Project Gutenberg

To supply the demand for galvanised signalling and fencing cords, the machines must turn out 15,000 yards of strand per day.

From Project Gutenberg

With the movement a strand of the corn-gold hair came tumbling down the side of her face.

From Project Gutenberg

A very interesting promenade for a stranger is that to the Strand, or “Maytown,” as it is likewise called.

From Project Gutenberg

It extends from the Strand to Holborn, the two principal business arteries of London.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• fiber
• filament
• rope
• string