string

STRING/stɹɪŋ/

Pluralstrings

Verbstrings, stringing, strung

34 meanings of string

Practice

1
cord for tyingnouncountable or uncountable
A thin, bendy cord made by twisting threads together.
Like a thin rope, but much smaller and softer.
She tied the package with a piece of string.
The kite was held by one long string.
UsageSay a piece of string. Thread is thinner, and rope is thicker.
Similarcord, rope, thread, line, twine
2
seriesnouncountable
A number of things or events that come one after another.
Like beads following one another in a line.
They won a string of games this season.
A string of warm days finally ended the cold spell.
UsageSay a string of things: a string of wins.
Similarseries, sequence
3
instrument wirenouncountable or uncountable
A thin wire or cord on an instrument that makes sound when it shakes quickly.
Like a rubber band that hums when you pluck it.
A guitar string snapped during the concert.
He tightened the string until it played the right note.
Note
4
computer textnouncountable
A row of letters, numbers, or symbols that a computer stores together as one item.
Like beads on a thread, where each bead is one letter or number.
The program saved the user's name as a string.
Each string in the file ended with a comma.
Note
5
bowed instrumentsnouncountable or uncountable
One or more instruments with strings, especially the violins, cellos, and similar instruments in an orchestra, or the people who play them.
Like a team inside the band, all playing violin-type instruments.
The strings began the piece with a soft melody.
She joined the string section last year.
UsageSay the strings for the group, and the string section.
Note
6
put onto threadverbtransitive
To put things onto a string, one after another.
Like threading beads onto a line to make a bracelet.
She strung the beads to make a necklace.
We string popcorn to hang on the tree.
UsageSay strung: she strung the beads.
Similarthread, hang, drape, festoon
7
row of objectsnouncountable or uncountable
A thread that holds objects in a neat row, or a line of objects arranged as if on a thread.
Like beads threaded together to make a necklace.
She wore a string of bright wooden beads.
A string of paper lanterns hung across the yard.
Similarstrand, chain, line, row, rope
Note
8
long thin piecenouncountable
A long, thin piece of something that looks like string, such as seaweed or stretched melted cheese.
Long strings of seaweed washed up on the beach after the storm.
My little brother ate a red licorice string on the bus.
Similarstrand, thread
9
conditionsnounfigurativelycountable or uncountableplural
The rules and limits that come along with an agreement or offer.
The free phone came with strings, like a two-year contract.
Grandma gave us the money for college with no strings attached.
UsageSay no strings attached when nothing is asked in return.
Similarconditions, provisions
Note
10
team levelnouncountable
A set of players on a team grouped by skill, such as the starters or the backups.
Like splitting players into a top group and a backup group.
He finally made the first string this season.
The second string came on near the end of the game.
UsageSay the first string or the second string.
Similarteam, squad, tier, unit
Note
11
physicsnouncountable
An extremely tiny, threadlike object that some scientists think is the smallest part of all matter.
Like a tiny vibrating thread far too small to ever see.
In this theory, a string is far smaller than an atom.
In string theory, each tiny string vibrates in its own way.
Note
12
stretch outverbintransitive
To stretch out into a long, thin line, as a soft substance does or as people in a row do.
Like warm gum stretching into a thin thread when you pull it.
Warm taffy strings as you stretch it between your hands.
The marathoners began to string out along the road.
UsageOften string out for people or things in a line: the runners strung out.
Similarstretch, trail, straggle, spread
Oppositebunch, cluster
13
bean fibernouncountable or uncountable
The tough thread along the edge of a bean pod, or a pod like it, that holds the two sides together.
Like a zipper that keeps the two sides of a jacket closed.
Pull the string off each green bean before you cook it.
Look closely at a pea pod and you will see the string along its edge.
Note

Less common meanings

14
fit with cordsverbtransitive
To put strings onto something, such as an instrument or a racquet.
Like fitting fresh cords onto a guitar.
The technician strung the new guitar carefully.
He learned to string his own racquet.
Note
15
racket threadnouncountable or uncountable
A thin cord of nylon, gut, or similar material stretched across the head of a racquet.
Like the tight threads stretched across a tennis racket.
A string broke during the tennis match.
He likes a tighter string on his racquet.
Note
16
racehorsesnouncollectivecountable or uncountable
A group of racehorses owned or trained by the same person.
Like a team of horses that all belong to one stable.
The trainer keeps a string of fast horses at the farm.
Their string did well at the races last year.
Similarstable, drove
17
noundatedcountable or uncountable
A trick or made-up story meant to fool people.
Similarhoax, fabrication, canard, invention, fake
Oppositetruth, fact
Note
18
pimp's groupnounslangcountable or uncountable
A group of prostitutes working under one pimp's control.
The detective knew the pimp ran a string in that part of town.
Most of the women in his string had worked there for years.
Similarstable
Note
19
noun
A narrow band of stone or brick running along the outside of a building.
20
noun
The long line of connected pipe that reaches down to a drill bit in a well.
21
nounslang
Marijuana, the dried plant that people smoke to get high.
22
noun
A set number of turns or rounds in a game.
23
noun
In pool, the line behind which a player must place the cue ball after it leaves play.
24
verb
In birdwatching, to fool others by claiming a rare bird is there when it isn't.
25
noun
A long board along the side of a staircase that holds the steps.
26
noundated
In billiards, a way to decide who plays first by seeing whose ball stops closest to the near rail.
27
verb
In billiards, to shoot toward the far rail and back to decide who plays first.
28
noun
In billiards, the points a player scores during a game.
29
noun
A thin strip, often of leather, that holds a book's covers together.
30
noun
In old billiards, the row of buttons on a wire used to keep score.
31
nounarchaic
A thin thread in a plant, or a tiny root.
Duckweed putteth forth a little string into the water, from the bottom.
1627, Francis [Bacon], Sylua Syluarum
32
nounarchaic
A nerve or a tough cord in the body, like a tendon.
The string of his tongue was loosed.
1611, The Holy Bible, King James Version
33
noun
A row of inside boards in a ship, bolted to the outer hull.
34
noun
A tiny thin branch of a vein of metal in rock.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of string apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–5, 7–11, 13, 15–18

From Old English strenġ, going back through Proto-Germanic and an ancient Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'rope, cord' or 'to tighten'.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

English string descends from Old English strenġ. en.wiktionary.org
Its ancestry passes through Proto-Germanic to Proto-Indo-European. en.wiktionary.org
The Proto-Indo-European root has meanings associated with rope, cord and tightness. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 6, 12, 14

From the noun 'string'.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

The verb string derives from the noun string. en.wiktionary.org