n.
-
(also straits)
a narrow passage of water connecting two seas or other large areas of water.
-
(straits)
a situation characterized by a specified degree of trouble or difficulty:
in dire straits.
adj.
archaic - narrow or cramped.
- strict or rigorous.
Derivative
- straitly adv.
- straitness n.
Etymology
ME: shortening of OFr. estreit ‘tight, narrow’, from L. strictus (see strict).