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# strait

«strait» in Mova's school dictionary: **a narrow passage of sea between two pieces of land that…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a strait, straits; often plural «the Straits of …»)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A strait is a narrow passage of sea between two pieces of land that joins two larger seas. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/strait/#m1)

2) «In dire straits» means in a very difficult or dangerous situation, often with money. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/strait/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In geography lessons pupils find straits on maps: the Strait of Gibraltar between Europe and Africa, Bass Strait between mainland Australia and Tasmania, Cook Strait between New Zealand's two islands, the Bering Strait between Asia and North America. Ships use straits as shortcuts. Phrases: «the Strait of …», «in dire straits», «strait-laced».

### examples

- The Strait of Gibraltar separates Spain and Morocco. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/strait/#x1)
- The ferry crosses Cook Strait from Wellington. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/strait/#x2)
- Bass Strait lies between Victoria and Tasmania. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/strait/#x3)
- Long ago people walked across the Bering Strait when sea levels were low. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/strait/#x4)
- Ships sail through the narrow strait. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/strait/#x5)
- After the flood, the family were in dire straits. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/strait/#x6)
- Find the strait on the map and colour it blue. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/strait/#x7)
- The black horse leaped the strait. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/strait/#x8)

### note

Homophone: «straight» (not bent). A strait is water; an isthmus is a narrow strip of land joining two lands — the opposite. «Straitjacket» uses this old meaning of «strait» = tight. Plural: straits.

### In the corpora

- [Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Māori and Native American peoples are the first peoples of their lands, and their cultures deserve respect.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/227-older-people-and-disabilities/9/)
- [A strait is a narrow stretch of sea joining two larger bodies of water, like a door between two rooms.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/geography/19-straits-the-narrow-doors/0/)
- [Constantinople, later called Istanbul, became the Ottoman capital and controlled the straits between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/geography/32-venice-the-ottomans-and-the-mediterranean/11/)
- [Out of my straits I called upon the LORD; He answered me with great enlargement.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/jps/PSA.2137/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «strait» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/strait/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.