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strait

noun
🔊/streɪt/
🔊/streɪt/
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  1. (also straits)
     [plural] (especially in the names of places尤用于地名) a narrow passage of water that connects two seas or large areas of water海峡；（连结两大水域的）水道
    • the Strait(s) of Gibraltar直布罗陀海峡
    Extra Examples
    • Many hundreds of vessels pass through the straits each year.每年有成百上千艘船通过海峡。
    • The oil terminal is in the narrow strait that separates the island from the mainland.输油管道的终点在一条将海岛与大陆分隔开的狭窄海峡中。
    • The town is on the straits between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.该镇位于黑海和地中海之间的水道上。
    • a ship anchored in the Straits of Hormuz停泊在霍尔木兹海峡的一艘轮船
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • narrow
    verb + strait
    • go through
    • pass through
    • enter
    • …
    strait + verb
    • separate something
    preposition
    • across the strait
    • in the strait
    • on the strait
    • …
    See full entry
  2. straits
     [plural] a very difficult situation especially because of lack of money（尤指经济拮据引起的）困境，境况窘迫
    • The factory is in dire straits.工厂岌岌可危。🔊🔊
    • She found herself in desperate financial straits.她发觉自己经济状况极为窘迫。🔊🔊
    • The business is in dire financial straits.这家公司处于严重的财务困境中。
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • desperate
    • dire
    • serious
    • …
    preposition
    • in strait
    See full entry
    3. Word OriginMiddle English: shortening of Old French estreit ‘tight, narrow’, from Latin strictus ‘drawn tight’, past participle of stringere ‘tighten, draw tight’.