strand

Pluralstrands

Formsstrands, stranding, stranded

1. 1
   nouncountable

   A single thin length of thread, fiber, hair, wire, or similar material, often one of several twisted or laid together to form a yarn, rope, or cable.

   A silver strand glinted among her dark hair.

   Loose strands of wool clung to the spinning wheel.

   UsageUsually a strand of + material: a strand of hair, strands of wool.

   Similarthread, fiber, filament

2. 2
   leave helplessverbfigurativelytransitive

   To leave someone in a difficult position, with no easy means of escape or help.

   A good leader will never strand colleagues in the middle of a crisis.

   The company stranded its workers overseas without pay or a way home.

   UsageOften passive: travelers are stranded or left stranded at an airport or in a town.

   Similarabandon, maroon, desert, leave, forsake

   Oppositerescue, save

3. 3
   part of wholenounfigurativelycountable

   A distinct element within a larger whole; a connected sequence of events, facts, or ideas.

   One strand of the novel traces a family across three generations.

   The report weaves together economic and political strands of the crisis.

   UsageUsually with of or in: a strand of the story, a key strand in a plan.

   Similarthread, element, aspect, component, line

   Note

   The rope image turned to ideas: a strand is one thread twisted together with others into a story, an argument or a policy. The plural suits surveys of a field, where several lines of thought run side by side. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The abstract sense uses the image of a thread as a figurative element within a whole. en.wiktionary.org
4. 4
   DNA chainnouncountable

   A chain of nucleotides, such as one of the two chains forming a DNA molecule.

   The enzyme unwinds the helix and exposes each strand for copying.

   When a cell divides, each strand of DNA serves as a pattern for a new partner strand.

   Similarchain

   Note

   Molecular biology counts its chains as strands. Each one is a line of nucleotides joined by phosphodiester bonds. In DNA, two such strands run antiparallel and pair through complementary bases. The word does much of its everyday work in the adjectives single-stranded and double-stranded, which tell you at a glance how many chains a molecule has. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

   • A nucleic acid strand is a chain of nucleotides. genome.gov
   • Nucleotides within a strand are joined by phosphodiester bonds. columbia.edu
   • The two strands of the DNA double helix run antiparallel. openlab.citytech.cuny.edu
   • DNA strands pair through complementary bases. openlab.citytech.cuny.edu
   • Single-stranded and double-stranded distinguish structures with one and two nucleotide chains. genome.gov
5. 5
   nouncountable

   The shore or beach along the edge of a sea, lake, or river.

   Children searched the strand for shells after the storm.

   Waves washed seaweed and driftwood high up the strand.

   Similarshore, beach, seashore

   Note

   The oldest meaning of the shoreline word, and the root of its shipping verbs: Old English strand already meant "sea-shore," from a Germanic word for "edge, rim, shore." The Earl of Surrey's Aeneid translation spells it strond, and Swift in 1726 has his narrator rowed a league and set down "on a Strand." It also survives in coastal names such as the Grand Strand. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 9 facts

   • The shore meaning goes back to Old English strand. en.wiktionary.org
   • The nautical verb derives from the shore noun. gutenberg.org
   • Old English strand meant sea-shore. en.wiktionary.org
   • Its Germanic ancestor meant edge, rim, or shore. en.wiktionary.org
   • The cited passage is in Surrey's translation of Book IV, first printed in 1554. The combined Books II and IV edition appeared in 1557. otago.ac.nz
   • Surrey's translation uses the spelling strond. otago.ac.nz
   • Swift's work was first published in 1726, and the passage belongs to its narrator. en.wikipedia.org
   • The text reads: "They rowed about a league, and then set me down on a strand." The item omits "me" inside its quotation. gutenberg.org
   • Grand Strand is a coastal place name. en.wikipedia.org
6. 6
   run agroundverbtransitive

   To drive or force a vessel aground onto a shore or shallows.

   Captains know a sudden squall can strand a ferry on a mud bank until the tide returns.

   The captain stranded the ship on a sandbar to stop it from sinking.

   Similarbeach, ground

   Oppositerefloat, launch

   Note

   A sailor's verb built on the noun for shore: to strand a ship is to put it on the beach, whether by design or by accident. From the vessel left high and dry came the "abandoned" meaning, where people rather than boats are stranded. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • The nautical verb is built on the noun meaning shore. gutenberg.org
   • The meaning involving abandoned people is a figurative extension of the nautical meaning. en.wiktionary.org
7. 7
   baseballverbtransitive

   In baseball, to leave a runner on base without scoring when the third out ends a half-inning; said of the batter who makes that out or the pitcher who records it.

   The batter grounded out to strand the runner at second.

   Their ace stranded three runners across the final two innings.

   Similarleave

   Note

   Game commentary uses the verb for runners left on base when an inning ends. Its object is always the runner, never the batter: "that's going to strand a pair" means two runners will be left where they stand. Both sides share the verb. The batter who makes the out strands the runners, and the pitcher who records that out is said to strand them too. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The quoted illustrative wording occurs in a baseball example. en.wiktionary.org
8. 8
   TV seriesnouncountable

   A series of broadcast programs sharing a particular theme or linked subject.

   The network launched a new comedy strand for late-night viewers.

   Several award-winning films aired under the same documentary strand.

   Similarseries, slot, banner, block

   Note

   A scheduler's word: a strand gathers programs that share a theme into a recognizable block, often in a dedicated time slot. Nichola Dobson's Historical Dictionary of Animation and Cartoons traces the BBC's children's strand, renamed Children's BBC by 1985. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Nichola Dobson wrote Historical Dictionary of Animation and Cartoons. research.ed.ac.uk
   • Dobson's book discusses the BBC children's strand and says it had been renamed Children's BBC by 1985. en.wiktionary.org
   • The BBC's afternoon children's programming was rebranded Children's BBC in 1985. en.wikipedia.org

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