stow /stoʊ / (stows , stowing , stowed ) VERB If you stow something somewhere, you carefully put it there until it is needed. □ [V n prep/adv] I helped her stow her bags in the boot of the car. [Also V n]
▸ stow away PHRASAL VERB If someone stows away , they hide in a ship, aeroplane, or other vehicle in order to make a journey secretly or without paying. □ [V P ] He stowed away on a ferry and landed in North Shields.
stow|age /stoʊ I dʒ/ N‑UNCOUNT Stowage is the space that is available for stowing things on a ship or aeroplane. □ Stowage is provided in lined lockers beneath the berths.
stow|away /stoʊ əwe I / (stowaways ) N‑COUNT A stowaway is a person who hides in a ship, aeroplane, or other vehicle in order to make a journey secretly or without paying. □ The crew discovered the stowaway about two days into their voyage.
strad|dle /stræ d ə l/ (straddles , straddling , straddled )
1 VERB If you straddle something, you put or have one leg on either side of it. □ [V n] He sat down, straddling the chair.
2 VERB If something straddles a river, road, border, or other place, it stretches across it or exists on both sides of it. □ [V n] A small wooden bridge straddled the dike. □ [V n] Salcey Forest straddles the Buckingham-Northamptonshire border.
3 VERB Someone or something that straddles different periods, groups, or fields of activity exists in, belongs to, or takes elements from them all. □ [V n] She's a writer who straddles two genres - she writes online games as well as literary novels.
strafe /stre I f/ (strafes , strafing , strafed ) VERB To strafe an enemy means to attack them with a lot of bombs or bullets from a low-flying aircraft. □ [V n] It seemed that the plane was going to swoop down and strafe the town, so we dived for cover.
strag|gle /stræ g ə l/ (straggles , straggling , straggled )
1 VERB If people straggle somewhere, they move there slowly, in small groups with large, irregular gaps between them. □ [V prep/adv] They came straggling up the cliff road.
2 VERB If a small quantity of things straggle over an area, they cover it in an uneven or untidy way. □ [V prep] Her grey hair straggled in wisps about her face. □ [V -ing] They were beyond the last straggling suburbs now.
strag|gler /stræ gələ r / (stragglers ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] The stragglers are the people in a group who are moving more slowly or making less progress than the others. □ There were two stragglers twenty yards back.
strag|gly /stræ gəli/ ADJ Straggly hair or a straggly plant is thin and grows or spreads out untidily in different directions. □ Her long fair hair was knotted and straggly.
straight ◆◆◇ /stre I t/ (straighter , straightest , straights )
1 ADJ A straight line or edge continues in the same direction and does not bend or curve. □ Keep the boat in a straight line. □ Using the straight edge as a guide, trim the cloth to size. □ There wasn't a single straight wall in the building. ● ADV [ADV after v] Straight is also an adverb. □ Stand straight and stretch the left hand to the right foot.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Straight hair has no curls or waves in it. □ Grace had long straight dark hair which she wore in a bun.
3 ADV You use straight to indicate that the way from one place to another is very direct, with no changes of direction. □ The ball fell straight to the feet of the striker. □ He finished his conversation and stood up, looking straight at me. □ Straight ahead were the low cabins of the motel.
4 ADV If you go straight to a place, you go there immediately. □ As always, we went straight to the experts for advice.
5 ADJ [ADJ n] If you give someone a straight answer, you answer them clearly and honestly. □ What a shifty arguer he is, refusing ever to give a straight answer. ● ADV [ADV after v] Straight is also an adverb. □ I lost my temper and told him straight that I hadn't been looking for any job.
6 ADJ [ADJ n] Straight means following one after the other, with no gaps or intervals. □ They'd won 12 straight games before they lost. ● ADV [n ADV ] Straight is also an adverb. □ He called from Weddington, having been there for 31 hours straight.
7 ADJ [ADJ n] A straight choice or a straight fight involves only two people or things. □ It's a straight choice between low-paid jobs and no jobs.
8 ADJ If you describe someone as straight , you mean that they are normal and conventional, for example in their opinions and in the way they live. □ Dorothy was described as a very straight woman, a very strict Christian who was married to her job.
9 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you describe someone as straight , you mean that they are heterosexual rather than homosexual. [INFORMAL ] □ His sexual orientation was a lot more gay than straight. ● N‑COUNT Straight is also a noun. □ …a standard of sexual conduct that applies equally to gays and straights.
10 ADJ [ADJ n] A straight drink, especially an alcoholic drink, has not had another liquid such as water added to it. □ …a large straight whiskey without ice.
11 N‑COUNT On a racetrack, a straight is a section of the track that is straight, rather than curved. □ I went to overtake him on the back straight on the last lap.
12 → see also home stretch
13 PHRASE If you get something straight , you make sure that you understand it properly or that someone else does. [SPOKEN ] □ Let's get things straight. I didn't lunch with her.