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straw - 7 dictionary results
straw
[straw] 
–noun
| 1. | a single stalk or stem, esp. of certain species of grain, chiefly wheat, rye, oats, and barley. |
| 2. | a mass of such stalks, esp. after drying and threshing, used as fodder. |
| 3. | material, fibers, etc., made from such stalks, as used for making hats or baskets. |
| 4. | the negligible value of one such stalk; trifle; least bit: not to care a straw. |
| 5. | a tube, usually of paper or glass, for sucking up a beverage from a container: to sip lemonade through a straw. |
| 6. | anything of possible but dubious help in a desperate circumstance. |
| 7. | straw man (def. 2). |
| 8. | a straw hat. |
–adjective
—Idioms| 9. | of, pertaining to, containing, or made of straw: a straw hat. |
| 10. | of the color of straw; pale yellow. |
| 11. | of little value or consequence; worthless. |
| 12. | sham; fictitious. |
| 13. | catch, clutch, or grasp at a straw, at straws, or at any straw or straws, to seize at any chance, no matter how slight, of saving oneself from calamity. |
| 14. | draw straws, to decide by lottery using straws or strawlike items of different lengths, usually with the short straw or straws determining the person chosen or the loser. |
Related forms:
strawless, adjective
strawlike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To straw
| straw (strô) n.
[Middle English, from Old English strēaw; see ster-2 in Indo-European roots.] straw'y adj. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Straw
Straw\, n. [OE. straw, stre, stree, AS. stre['a]w, from the root of E. strew; akin to OFries. str[=e], D. stroo, G. stroh, OHG. str[=o], Icel. str[=a], Dan. straa, Sw. str[*a]. [root]166. See Strew.]1. A stalk or stem of certain species of grain, pulse, etc., especially of wheat, rye, oats, barley, more rarely of buckwheat, beans, and pease. 2. The gathered and thrashed stalks of certain species of grain, etc.; as, a bundle, or a load, of rye straw. 3. Anything proverbially worthless; the least possible thing; a mere trifle. I set not a straw by thy dreamings. --Chaucer. Note: Straw is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, straw-built, straw-crowned, straw-roofed, straw-stuffed, and the like. Man of straw, an effigy formed by stuffing the garments of a man with straw; hence, a fictitious person; an irresponsible person; a puppet. Straw bail, worthless bail, as being given by irresponsible persons. [Colloq. U.S.] Straw bid, a worthless bid; a bid for a contract which the bidder is unable or unwilling to fulfill. [Colloq. U.S.] Straw cat (Zo["o]l.), the pampas cat. Straw color, the color of dry straw, being a delicate yellow. Straw drain, a drain filled with straw. Straw plait, or Straw plat, a strip formed by plaiting straws, used for making hats, bonnets, etc. To be in the straw, to be brought to bed, as a pregnant woman. [Slang]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : straw
Spanish:
paja,
German:
das Stroh, Stroh-…,
Japanese:
わら
straw
O.E. streaw "stems or stalks of certain cereals," lit. "that which is scattered or strewn," related to streowian (see strew), from P.Gmc. *strawam "that which is scattered" (cf. O.N. stra, Dan. straa, Swed. strå, O.Fris. stre, O.Du., O.H.G. stro, Ger. Stroh "straw"), from PIE *stere- "to spread" (see structure). The notion is of dried grain stalks strewn on a floor as carpeting or bedding. As a type of what is trifling or unimportant, attested from c.1290. Meaning "hollow tube through which a drink is sucked" is recorded from 1851. To draw straws as a means of deciding something is recorded from 1832. The last straw is from the proverb of the camel. Man of straw "imaginary opponent" is recorded from 1624. Straw poll is from 1932; earlier straw vote (1866). Straw hat first attested 1453. To clutch (or grasp or catch) at straws (1748) is what a drowning man proverbially would do.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Straw
Used in brick-making (Ex. 5:7-18). Used figuratively in Job 41:27; Isa. 11:7; 25:10; 65:25.
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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straw
In addition to the idioms beginning with straw, also see draw straws; grasp at straws; last straw; make bricks without straw; not worth a dime (straw).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
