string

Pluralstrings

Formsstrings, stringing, strung

1. 1
   cord for tyingnouncountable or uncountable

   A long, thin, flexible cord made from threads twisted together.

   He wrapped the parcel and secured it with string.

   The gardener used strings to mark straight rows for planting.

   UsageAs a material: a piece of string, a ball of string. Thread is finer; cord and rope are thicker.

   Similarcord, rope, thread, line, twine

2. 2
   seriesnouncountable

   A connected series of items or events occurring one after another.

   The detective linked a string of robberies to the same suspect.

   Her latest album produced a string of hit songs.

   UsageUsually a string of + plural noun: a string of robberies, wins or hits.

   Similarseries, sequence

3. 3
   instrument wirenouncountable or uncountable

   A length of wire or similar material on a musical instrument that vibrates to produce sound.

   The violinist replaced a worn string before the recital.

   Pressing the string against the fret raises its pitch.

   Note

   The vibrating length at the heart of a guitar, harp or violin, made of gut, nylon, steel or wound metal. Its pitch is set by its length, mass and tension, which is why a player tightens a string to tune it up. Compounds are normally written as two words, as in guitar string or violin string. From this one wire the word stretches to stringed instruments as a group. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • An instrument string is a vibrating element that produces sound. en.wiktionary.org
   • Musical strings can be made of gut, nylon or steel, or have metal windings. en.wikipedia.org
   • Pitch depends on a string's vibrating length, mass and tension; increasing tension raises pitch. newt.phys.unsw.edu.au
   • The musical sense extends to stringed instruments collectively. en.wiktionary.org
4. 4
   computer textnouncountable

   An ordered sequence of text characters stored together in memory and handled as a single unit.

   The function returns a string containing the formatted date.

   Developers often compare two strings to check whether they match.

   Note

   Programmers borrowed the image of characters threaded in a row. In code a string is often a data type in its own right, commonly encoded in ASCII or Unicode. It supports operations such as concatenation, indexing and extracting a substring. In ordinary use among programmers the noun stands alone ("the function returns a string"), with no "of characters" needed.

5. 5
   bowed instrumentsnouncountable or uncountable

   Stringed instruments as a group, especially the section of an orchestra made up of bowed instruments such as violins, violas, cellos, and double basses, or the musicians who play them; also, a single stringed instrument.

   The conductor asked the strings to play more quietly during the second movement.

   A rich string sound carried the whole symphony.

   UsageUsually the strings: the strings came in late. Often singular before another noun: the string section.

   Note

   The word covers both the instruments and the players, so "the strings came in late" can blame either. In an orchestra it usually means the bowed section; a guitar or harp counts only in the looser sense of any stringed instrument.

6. 6
   put onto threadverbtransitive

   To thread or arrange items onto a string in succession.

   They strung lanterns along the porch for the party.

   Children love to string colorful beads during craft time.

   UsageThe standard past tense and past participle are strung: they strung lanterns. Often string things on a cord or along something.

   Similarthread, hang, drape, festoon

7. 7
   row of objectsnouncountable or uncountable

   A thread or cord on which objects are arranged in close, orderly succession, or a line of things arranged as if on a thread.

   A string of pearls lay coiled in the velvet box.

   Tiny islands form a string along the coast.

   Similarstrand, chain, line, row, rope

   Note

   Here the cord matters less than what hangs on it: a string of beads, shells or sausages means the objects and the thread together. The "as if so arranged" extension is already at work in Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, where a string of islands needs no thread at all. That loosening is the step toward a series of events, where the line runs through time instead of space. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Edward Gibbon uses 'a string of islands' figuratively in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. gutenberg.org
8. 8
   long thin piecenouncountable

   A long, thin, flexible strand of something that resembles a cord, such as a strand of plant matter or a thread of a sticky substance drawn out.

   A string of kelp had wrapped itself around the outboard propeller and stalled the motor.

   At the party, the kids twisted red licorice strings into bracelets and necklaces.

   Similarstrand, thread

9. 9
   conditionsnounfigurativelycountable or uncountableplural

   The conditions and limitations attached to an agreement, considered together.

   The deal looked generous, but the strings made it far less attractive.

   The investors promised funding with no strings attached, then asked for two seats on the board.

   UsageMost common in no strings attached, for an offer that asks nothing back.

   Similarconditions, provisions

   Note

   Writers enjoy reviving the literal picture: in Mel Holley's 2022 report on a rail dispute, a union leader says an offer "contains more strings than a harp." Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Mel Holley wrote a report on the rail dispute published in 2022. en.wiktionary.org
   • The speaker was a union leader: Luke Chester, TSSA Organising Director. tssa.org.uk
   • The quotation 'contains more strings than a harp' accurately describes what the union leader said about the offer. tssa.org.uk
10. 10
    team levelnouncountable

    A tier of players on a team ranked by ability, especially the group considered most likely to succeed.

    She earned a place on the first string after a strong tryout.

    Injuries forced the coach to rely on the second string.

    UsageUsually with an ordinal: the first string, a second-string player.

    Similarteam, squad, tier, unit

    Note

    The first string are the regular starters, the second string are next in line, and so on down the depth chart. A second-stringer is a substitute. The origin of this sporting use is uncertain.

11. 11
    physicsnouncountable

    A tiny, one-dimensional, stringlike entity that is the fundamental object of study in string theory.

    According to string theory, every particle is a vibrating string.

    Different vibration patterns of a string correspond to different particles.

    Note

    In physics the picture is taken almost literally. The fundamental object is not a point but a tiny one-dimensional string, and its different modes of vibration show up as the different elementary particles. That replaces the point particles of quantum field theory at the smallest scales. The word is built into the name of the whole field, string theory. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Within string theory, fundamental objects are one-dimensional strings. hep.itp.tuwien.ac.at
    • String theory models fundamental particles as tiny strings rather than points. cms.cern
    • Different string vibration modes correspond to different particles. hep.itp.tuwien.ac.at
    • String theory replaces the point-particle description of quantum field theory with strings at the fundamental scale. en.wikipedia.org
12. 12
    stretch outverbintransitive

    To form into a string or strings, as a stretched substance does, or as a moving line of people does.

    The hot mozzarella strings whenever you lift a slice.

    The cyclists string out over the hills as the race wears on.

    UsageOften string out: the runners strung out along the road.

    Similarstretch, trail, straggle, spread

    Oppositebunch, cluster

13. 13
    bean fibernouncountable or uncountable

    The tough fiber that runs along the seams of a bean pod or other legume pod and holds its two halves together.

    Snap the stem end off each bean and pull the string down along the seam.

    Late-season pole beans can have strings too tough to chew, so trim them before steaming.

    Note

    A botanist sees a bean pod as a fruit: its wall is the pericarp, and the two halves that part along the seams are the valves. The string is the band that binds those valves together. The word works two ways: as a mass noun for the tough material itself, and as a countable one, the strings of beans a cook pulls away one seam at a time. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • A bean pod is botanically a fruit. metabolism.net
    • The pod wall is the pericarp. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    • The pod has two valves joined along its seams. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    • The string is tough fibrous material uniting the valves. en.wiktionary.org
    • Cooks remove bean strings by pulling them along the pod. extension.purdue.edu

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