Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for strut. Search instead for struts.
Synonyms

strut

1 American  
[struht] / strʌt /

verb (used without object)

strutted, strutting

  1. to walk with a vain, pompous bearing, as with head erect and chest thrown out, as if expecting to impress observers.

    Synonyms:
    flourish, parade

noun

  1. the act of strutting.

  2. a strutting walk or gait.

idioms

  1. strut one's stuff, to dress, behave, perform, etc., one's best in order to impress others; show off.

strut 2 American  
[struht] / strʌt /

noun

  1. any of various structural members, as in trusses, primarily intended to resist longitudinal compression.

verb (used with object)

strutted, strutting

  1. to brace or support by means of a strut or struts.

strut British  
/ strʌt /

verb

  1. (intr) to walk in a pompous manner; swagger

  2. (tr) to support or provide with struts

  3. informal to behave or perform in a proud and confident manner; show off

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a structural member used mainly in compression, esp as part of a framework

  2. an affected, proud, or stiff walk

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

Strut and swagger refer especially to carriage in walking. Strut implies swelling pride or pompousness; to strut is to walk with a stiff, pompous, seemingly affected or self-conscious gait: A turkey struts about the barnyard. Swagger implies a domineering, sometimes jaunty, superiority or challenge, and a self-important manner: to swagger down the street.

Other Word Forms

  • strutter noun
  • strutting adjective
  • struttingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of strut1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English strouten “to protrude stiffly, swell, bluster,” Old English strūtian “to struggle,” derivative of unattested strūt (whence Middle English strut “strife”)

Origin of strut2

First recorded in 1565–75; obscurely akin to strut 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Disneyland’s Main Street certainly should be lined with fans March 26 when — as described on the Disneyland web site — “the Savannah Bananas shimmy, shake and strut their way through an unforgettable cavalcade!”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026

Around 25 outfits will strut the catwalk on Sunday, a moment that "goes by in a flash".

From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026

We are up and operating again, getting our strut back.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025

"You knew at some point you were gonna need to strut into your family home and break the news to your family that you're gay."

From BBC • Jul. 1, 2025

“Charlie baby, Charlie baby, get on up! Charlie baby, Charlie baby, strut yo’ stuff!”

From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.