Main meanings of strand in English

: strand¹ strand²

strand¹

verb

[with object]

1Leave (someone) without the means to move from somewhere.
‘two of the firm's trucks are stranded in France’
‘they were stranded by the blizzard’
- ‘Elderly people are regularly stranded in hospital long after they should have been discharged because they have nowhere else to go.’
- ‘However, hundreds of people were still stranded at British airports last night, queuing for limited places.’
- ‘An estimated 500,000 people are stranded in remote mountain villages cut off from aid and supplies by landslides.’
- ‘Drivers were left stranded, surrounded by water, while other cars became stuck in potholes caused by the heavy rain.’
- ‘Mr Clifford says because his sheep are stranded the number of lambs dying could increase dramatically.’
- ‘She was left stranded in Tadcaster town centre as the bogus caller drove off in his van, which had two ladders fixed to the roof.’
- ‘In the name of homeland security, innocent seamen are stranded aboard their visiting cargo ships.’
- ‘Almost the full length of Chorley New Road, Bolton, was affected, and some motorists were left stranded in up to three feet of water.’
- ‘Thirteen passengers were left stranded in Minorca when their plane flew back to Leeds Bradford Airport on Friday.’
- ‘He said it was an unhappy situation for the passengers that were left stranded but it didn't come as a surprise to anybody in the aviation industry.’
- ‘Several senior citizens were left stranded for over an hour waiting for a No 2 bus that missed a run at 11.40 am on May 19.’
- ‘Some Britons arriving at foreign airports to catch flights back to the UK were left stranded and others scrambled to book with other airlines.’
- ‘As the region shivered in Artic conditions hundreds of passengers at Manchester airport were left stranded after flight were cancelled.’
- ‘Thousands of motorists were left stranded in traffic chaos yesterday when a heath fire forced one of Britain's busiest motorways to close.’
- ‘She was left stranded unable to return home to her 12-year-old daughter and ailing mother.’
- ‘The two kids, a girl and her younger brother, are left stranded, and must make their way back home.’
- ‘Many workers and students were left stranded because they did not carry sufficient funds to pay the new fares.’
- ‘Commuters were left stranded during morning peak hours at some township zones while some had to hike to work.’
- ‘Dozens of police were called in to contain the protest, and thousands of passengers were left stranded.’
- ‘Commuters claimed they were left stranded on platforms with little or no information.’
2Drive or leave (a boat, sailor, or sea creature) aground on a shore.
‘the ships were stranded in shallow water’
‘quantities of sea creatures were left stranded’
- ‘Yesterday at low tide, silt shut the slough like trap, and mud stranded boats on docks perched high above water.’
- ‘In 1868 when the vessel was stranded on a beach in New Zealand, the then Captain rescued the figurehead.’
- ‘I would like to inform the authority that I had only three outings on the lake this year and rescued two stranded day boats.’
- ‘Huge boats are stranded far from the ocean, some of them upside down.’
- ‘A whale was stranded on the beach at Byron Bay this week and then carried to the Australian Museum for examination.’
- ‘The workers were left stranded on Saturday after their employer told them his boat had broken down and was unable to collect them.’
- ‘As the tide falls the fish are stranded, either out of the water or in an enclosed pool.’
- ‘Low water ended construction on the canal and threatened to strand the deep-draft vessels.’
- ‘As the tsunami event began, water was sucked away from the beach and scores of fish were stranded.’
- ‘The lack of fresh water here forced him to sail eastward to St Ann's Bay where he stranded the ships side by side a bow's shot from the shore.’
- ‘At least the submarine was stranded near the British Isles and not the Canadian coast.’
- ‘The crew of the six stranded vessels suffered for months in below zero conditions without pay.’
- ‘When a live stranded turtle is found, it is often brought to a rehabilitation center for recovery and eventual release.’
- ‘Taking Jimmy's advice, the islanders stay on board until the ship is eventually stranded on the reef.’
- ‘We walked across the marshes where grounded boats found themselves stranded many years ago and are being slowly consumed by the land.’
- ‘Five or six are suspected to have died when 46 whales became stranded in shallow water in August.’
- ‘When rising seas severed the link, a wide range of wildlife was left stranded on the newly-created island.’
- ‘If they are left stranded, they are likely to die within a month.’
- ‘He was left stranded on the ice continent after his polar flight ran into powerful head winds as he headed toward Argentina.’
- ‘Only last month a herd of cows was stranded on the River Exe floodplain, just north of Tiverton, Devon.’

noun

literary Irish

The shore of a sea, lake, or large river.
‘a heron glided to rest on a pebbly strand’
- ‘Of the total of 39 pilot whales that came ashore, 18 died and were buried on the strand by Dingle Coast Guard and Kerry County Council.’
- ‘The Annual Blessing of the Boats will take place on Friday, May 30, at 5 pm on the front strand at Cro-mane Lower.’
- ‘The Blessing of the Boats will take place on Saturday, June 5, at 5.30 pm in the front strand in Cromane Lower.’
- ‘From here you will have the perfect view of the lower end of the resort as well as the main beach and the back strand.’
- ‘Stating that the contamination was not an isolated incident, he claimed it was a regular occurrence further east along the beach towards the sand dunes and into the back strand.’
- ‘Further down the coastline many people were out on Littor strand and other beaches, taking advantage of the sunshine.’
- ‘Littor strand has had a busy season with many locals and visitors enjoying the peaceful beach and calm waters.’
- ‘Every Sunday the beach buggy riders come to the strand in cars and vans and spend the afternoon zooming up and down the shoreline between Beale and Littor Strands when the tide is out.’
- ‘He complained about insufficient car parking for visitors to the strand and the poor access facilities onto the beach for the elderly and people with disabilities.’
- ‘The scenery of this ancient coastline, from the golden strand of Lacken to Downpatrick Head to Belmullet is awesome.’
seashore, shore, beach, sands, foreshore, shoreline
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Origin

Old English (as a noun), of unknown origin. The verb dates from the early 17th century.

Pronunciation

strand

/strand/

Main meanings of strand in English

: strand¹ strand²

strand²

noun

1A single thin length of something such as thread, fibre, or wire, especially as twisted together with others.
‘strands of coloured wool’
- ‘Fibre optics are thin strands of glass or plastic that transmit light by reflecting it.’
- ‘Use silk thread or several strands of contrast cotton thread.’
- ‘The teams then thread the strands into an automatic wire bailer.’
- ‘Seam sealant strengthens the twist and holds the strands together.’
- ‘It was a butterfly, its wings made from fine strands of gold twisted together until they formed this delicate creature, so fine it seemed almost transparent.’
- ‘I sighed with frustration as I failed to thread the strand of white cotton through the eye of the needle for the fourth time and stifled the urge to throw the needle across the room.’
- ‘Feelings could be fickle… I twisted a strand of grass between my fingers.’
- ‘This first patent was for a machine that made very thin barley twist strands, which were then woven into screens resembling woven willow screens.’
- ‘Joining the disks are thin wire strands, painted yellow and orange, that zigzag across the front.’
- ‘A single strand of wire encircled the top of both the exclosures and the open units to allow for similar seed input from bird defecation into all the units.’
- ‘They turned, still tethered together with a single strand of rope, and began their slow trek back to town.’
- ‘Her heart felt as if it was hanging onto a single strand of thread, able to break off and shatter into pieces any moment.’
- ‘The strands glue themselves together into a resilient fabric that I cannot tear apart with my fingers.’
- ‘The whole book was put together with a strand running length-wise on the back and on the front and then four horizontal strands held the pages together.’
- ‘The thread is twisted by attaching loose strands to the top of the spindle, then rolling the spindle along the thigh to start it spinning.’
- ‘In a fiber optic seal, strands of fiber optic wire are pressed together in a clear, plastic case upon installation and cut in an irregular pattern.’
- ‘Fibre optics are very thin strands of very pure glass, about the thickness of a human hair, used to transmit light signals over long distances.’
- ‘Glass fibre cables can carry infinitely more information than copper wires and every glass strand needs a protective coating.’
- ‘The cat is in the other room, playing with its favorite toy: a long strand of wire with a tiny knob of wood at each end.’
- ‘The new fibre optic networks (using thin strands of glass) had the capacity to deliver a far greater number of television channels than the old wired systems.’
thread, filament, fibre
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1. 1.1A single hair or thin lock of hair.
  ‘strands of dark hair had fallen over his brows’
  ‘My ponytail had come partially undone so strands and locks of hair lay in my eyes, stuck to the sweat and tears on my face.’
  ‘Not a single strand of her dark hair had escaped her complicated, coiling up-do and her clothes were stylish and wrinkle-free.’
  ‘‘Wonder what he's up to,’ Tatiana mused, curling a strand of dark brown hair around her finger.’
  ‘‘It's not all I'm passionate about,’ he growls, tucking a few strands of her dark hair behind her ear.’
  ‘He gently kissed her cheek, dark strands of his hair brushing her face.’
  ‘Black leather boots stepped out, followed by the top of a military hat which hid obvious strands of dark wavy hair.’
  ‘Instead, she carried on stroking his shoulder, flicking back matted strands of dark hair.’
  ‘Like a finger, a breeze pushed a strand of dark hair off my face.’
  ‘Within it was a small golden locket, containing his photograph and a single strand of his hair.’
  ‘Dark strands of hair covered her head like a tiny cap.’
  ‘A cold, unwelcoming breeze brushed strands of dark hair from my face.’
  ‘Inside, he found his partner sitting up, a bandage on his right temple nearly covered by long, dark strands of hair.’
  ‘I stepped back and brushed a few strands of her dark hair behind her ears.’
  ‘The chilly wind whipped strands of dark hair across her face, and the dewy smell of wet grass filled her senses.’
  ‘I shook my head slowly, both hands wrung through my long, dark strands of hair.’
  ‘He played absently with a strand of her dark hair.’
  ‘She played with a curly strand of dark auburn hair.’
  ‘Adam smirked, a dark strand of hair falling into his eyes.’
  ‘Her fingers carefully twisted the strands together, and wove her long red hair smooth so it looked like silk.’
  ‘Her hair was a mess, some strands sticking together from dried blood.’
  lock, tress, wisp, tendril
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2. 1.2A string of beads or pearls.
  ‘She wears a wide beaded choker and an extra-long strand of pearls double looped around her neck.’
  ‘We both layered on fake pearls, her a choker and stud earrings me, layers of long strands of pearls.’
  ‘He felt in his pocket, and found his target: a strand of rosary beads his mother had given him before he had gone to serve in the Guard three months before.’
  ‘she turned to the mirror and picked up her three strand necklace of pearls.’
  ‘A pity all this was required by ceremony, she thought, laying three strands of pearls, with ruby pendants, on the bedspread.’
  ‘Women wear necklaces with eight to ten strands of tiny white beads.’
  ‘Both of these drummers are wearing long strands of beads, which may be initiation necklaces.’
  ‘They produce rings, necklaces, and wrist and ankle bracelets made of braided strands of silver or copper.’
  ‘For the white section, he used four strands of pink beads, rhinestones and small religious iconic pictures in gold frames.’
  ‘The pearl strands that are stringed by American diamonds were yet another collection that seemed popular with visitors.’
  ‘Like strands of necklaces, rows of brightly colored stringed beads used to teach arithmetic, dangled on the wall.’
  ‘If you use many strands of beads, larger boxes could become too heavy.’
  ‘She wore a tailored black pantsuit, black heels, and double strands of pearls around her neck and one wrist.’
  ‘In my hair, I remember wearing gold strands laced with pearls and precious stones.’
  ‘Christiana liked the cool, smooth feel of strands of pearls sliding through her hands.’
  ‘By day she draped herself in strands of multi-coloured beads, while by night diamond cuffs climbed the length of her arms.’
  ‘Another strand of pearls was clasped behind her neck.’
  ‘I opened it and a beautiful strand of pearls was there.’
  ‘She tugged gently on the strand of beads around her neck, tucking them cautiously under her shirt again and letting a sigh pass her lips.’
  ‘Roll a strand of pearls on flat surface to test them for roundness.’
  strand, rope, necklace, rosary, chaplet
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3. 1.3An element that forms part of a complex whole.
  ‘the journal has carried articles representing many different strands of opinion on the left’
  ‘With the fellowship now splintered into three, the score of the second part becomes more complex than the first, weaving between the plot strands with different musical themes.’
  ‘With hindsight one can see that historical and contemporary strands were discrete and complementary.’
  ‘Cristofer also improves on, or completes, a plot strand in the novel.’
  ‘It's an original story, smoothly assembled, but the strands of social exposé and romantic thriller don't always complement each other.’
  ‘Our economy depends on two orthogonal strands to make a whole cloth.’
  ‘There are different strands of liberalism, much as there are different strands of socialism and conservatism.’
  ‘The unravelling of these very complex strands, and relating them specifically to musical serialism, is one of the major strengths of the book.’
  ‘Whole story strands were deleted entirely, including some crucially important ones that are necessary to the ending of the film.’
  ‘It seems to me that part of the problem is that the opposition has no central figure that can rally all these different strands of discontent.’
  ‘Many British people seem to have forgotten - or failed to learn - that US foreign policy is complex and contains many strands.’
  ‘For the most part, the stories are completely unrelated and therefore suffer from a feeling that some of the strands are completely redundant.’
  ‘The purest-seeming instances of cultural values are often products of complex strands of interaction.’
  ‘This strand was completely child - initiated; original activities began as a result of child requests and ideas.’
  ‘And the fifth strand of the complex of arguments in this book is the following.’
  ‘Teacher training in Israel is divided into two strands: elementary education and secondary education.’
  ‘He never adequately connects the several different strands he's weaving into a cohesive whole theory.’
  ‘This book may not be to all tastes, but a curious reader will find many intellectual strands twisted together here, most likely in unusual patterns.’
  ‘Army Transformation affects the whole Army-its entire fabric and not just single strands of unrelated threads.’
  ‘And a final news bite brings two strands of the future together in one neat twist.’
  ‘To strengthen coherence further, the editor has written an introduction and conclusion, weaving the separate strands together to form a single cord.’
  element, component, factor, ingredient, aspect, feature
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