# strand

Pronunciation: say "STRAND" /stɹænd/

## Noun

1. 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.
   - Simple: One thin piece of hair, thread, or wire, often twisted together with others to make rope or cable.
   - _A silver strand glinted among her dark hair._
   - _Loose strands of wool clung to the spinning wheel._
3. A distinct element within a larger whole; a connected sequence of events, facts, or ideas.
   - Simple: One part of a larger story, plan, or set of ideas that connects to others.
   - _One strand of the novel traces a family across three generations._
   - _The report weaves together economic and political strands of the crisis._
4. A chain of nucleotides, such as one of the two chains forming a DNA molecule.
   - Simple: A single chain of the building blocks that form DNA or RNA.
   - _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._
5. The shore or beach along the edge of a sea, lake, or river.
   - Simple: The land along the edge of the sea, a lake, or a river. A beach.
   - _Children searched the strand for shells after the storm._
   - _Waves washed seaweed and driftwood high up the strand._
8. A series of broadcast programs sharing a particular theme or linked subject.
   - Simple: A set of TV or radio shows linked by one theme or topic.
   - _The network launched a new comedy strand for late-night viewers._
   - _Several award-winning films aired under the same documentary strand._
11. In the Philippines, a specialized track or set of subjects that students follow within a senior high school program. *(Philippines)*
   - Simple: In the Philippines, a group of subjects a high school student chooses to study, such as science or business.
   - _She chose the science strand for her final two years of high school._
   - _The school offers a business strand alongside its arts program._

## Verb

2. To leave someone in a difficult position, with no easy means of escape or help.
   - Simple: To leave someone behind in a hard spot with no easy way out.
   - _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._
6. To drive or force a vessel aground onto a shore or shallows.
   - Simple: To push or drive a boat onto the shore so it cannot move.
   - _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._
7. 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.
   - Simple: In baseball, to leave a runner on base without scoring when that half of the inning ends.
   - _The batter grounded out to strand the runner at second._
   - _Their ace stranded three runners across the final two innings._
9. In linguistics, to leave a grammatical element, such as a preposition, separated from the complement it would normally appear next to.
   - Simple: In grammar, to leave a word such as a preposition without the words that usually follow it.
   - _English readily strands prepositions, producing sentences like "What are you looking at?"_
   - _Speakers strand the preposition whenever they move its object to the front of the clause._
10. To make something, such as a rope or cable, by uniting separate strands together.
   - Simple: To make something by twisting or joining many threads together.
   - _Workers strand steel wires into strong cables for the bridge._
   - _Ropemakers once had to strand hemp cords into thick ropes by hand._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A public road or street running through a town.
- (verb) To break one of the individual strands that make up a rope.
- (noun) A small brook or narrow stream.
- (noun) A passage or channel for water; a gutter.

## Origin

**Meanings 2, 5–7, 9** — From Middle English strand, from Old English strand ("strand, sea-shore, shore"), going back through Proto-Germanic *strandō ("edge, rim, shore"), possibly to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to broaden, spread out." It is related to Dutch strand and German Strand. The 'street' sense perhaps arose from a similarity of shape.
**Meanings 1, 3–4, 8, 10–11** — Of uncertain origin. It may be the same word as strand ("rivulet, stream"), or perhaps from Middle English via Old French estran ("a rope, cord"), from Middle High German stren ("skein, strand") and ultimately a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "strip, line, streak." It is related to Dutch streng and German Strähne.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/strand (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).