straiten
[ streyt-n ]
verb (used with object)
to put into difficulties, especially financial ones: His obligations had straitened him.
to restrict in range, extent, amount, pecuniary means, etc: Poverty straitens one's way of living.
Archaic.
to make narrow.
to confine within narrow limits.
Origin of straiten
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use straiten in a sentence
His breath gives the frost and straitens the breadth of waters.
Expositor's Bible: The Book of Job | Robert Watson
British Dictionary definitions for straiten
straiten
/ (ˈstreɪtən) /
verb
(tr; usually passive) to embarrass or distress, esp financially
(tr) to limit, confine, or restrict
archaic to make or become narrow
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
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