strict ◆◇◇ /str I kt/ (stricter , strictest )
1 ADJ A strict rule or order is very clear and precise or severe and must always be obeyed completely. □ The officials had issued strict instructions that we were not to get out of the jeep. □ French privacy laws are very strict. □ All your replies will be treated in the strictest confidence. ● strict|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ The acceptance of new members is strictly controlled.
2 ADJ If a parent or other person in authority is strict , they regard many actions as unacceptable and do not allow them. □ My parents were very strict. □ …a few schools selected for their high standards and their strict discipline. ● strict|ly ADV □ My own mother was brought up very strictly and correctly.
3 ADJ [ADJ n] If you talk about the strict meaning of something, you mean the precise meaning of it. □ It's not quite peace in the strictest sense of the word, rather the absence of war. ● strict|ly ADV [ADV adj] □ Actually, that is not strictly true. □ Strictly speaking, it is not one house at all, but three houses joined together.
4 → see also strict
5 ADJ [ADJ n] You use strict to describe someone who never does things that are against their beliefs. □ Many people in the country are now strict vegetarians.
strict|ly /str I ktli/ ADV You use strictly to emphasize that something is of one particular type, or intended for one particular thing or person, rather than any other. [EMPHASIS ] □ This session was strictly for the boys.
stric|ture /str I ktʃə r / (strictures )
1 N‑COUNT [usu pl] You can use strictures to refer to severe criticism or disapproval of something. [FORMAL ] □ [+ on/against ] …the Church's strictures on lending money at exorbitant interest.
2 N‑COUNT [usu pl] You can refer to things that limit what you can do as strictures of a particular kind. [mainly FORMAL ] □ Your goals are hindered by financial strictures.
stride /stra I d/ (strides , striding , strode )
1 VERB If you stride somewhere, you walk there with quick, long steps. □ [V prep/adv] They were joined by a newcomer who came striding across a field. □ [V prep/adv] He turned abruptly and strode off down the corridor.
2 N‑COUNT A stride is a long step which you take when you are walking or running. □ With every stride, runners hit the ground with up to five times their body-weight. □ He walked with long strides.
3 N‑SING [usu poss N ] Someone's stride is their way of walking with long steps. □ He lengthened his stride to keep up with her.
4 N‑COUNT [usu pl, usu adj N ] If you make strides in something that you are doing, you make rapid progress in it. □ The country has made enormous strides politically but not economically.
5 PHRASE If you get into your stride or hit your stride , you start to do something easily and confidently, after being slow and uncertain. □ The campaign is just getting into its stride.
6 PHRASE In British English, if you take a problem or difficulty in your stride , you deal with it calmly and easily. The American expression is take something in stride . □ Beth was struck by how Naomi took the mistake in her stride.
stri|den|cy /stra I d ə nsi/ N‑UNCOUNT Stridency is the quality of being strident. □ Many employees were alarmed by the director's new stridency.
stri|dent /stra I d ə nt/
1 ADJ If you use strident to describe someone or the way they express themselves, you mean that they make their feelings or opinions known in a very strong way that perhaps makes people uncomfortable. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ …the unnecessarily strident tone of the Prime Minister's remarks.
2 ADJ If a voice or sound is strident , it is loud, harsh, and unpleasant to listen to. □ She tried to laugh, and the sound was harsh and strident.
strife /stra I f/ N‑UNCOUNT Strife is strong disagreement or fighting. [FORMAL ] □ Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.
strike ◆◆◇ /stra I k/ (strikes , striking , struck , stricken ) The form struck is the past tense and past participle. The form stricken can also be used as the past participle for meanings 6 and 17 . 1 N‑COUNT [oft on N ] When there is a strike , workers stop doing their work for a period of time, usually in order to try to get better pay or conditions for themselves. [BUSINESS ] □ French air traffic controllers have begun a three-day strike in a dispute over pay. □ Staff at the hospital went on strike in protest at the incidents. □ …a call for strike action.
2 VERB When workers strike , they go on strike. [BUSINESS ] □ [V ] …their recognition of the workers' right to strike. □ [V + for ] They shouldn't be striking for more money. □ [V -ing] The government agreed not to sack any of the striking workers. ● strik|er (strikers ) N‑COUNT □ The strikers want higher wages, which state governments say they can't afford.
3 VERB If you strike someone or something, you deliberately hit them. [FORMAL ] □ [V n prep/adv] She took two quick steps forward and struck him across the mouth. □ [V n] It is impossible to say who struck the fatal blow.