# string

Pronunciation: say "STRING" /stɹɪŋ/

## Noun

1. A long, thin, flexible cord made from threads twisted together.
   - Simple: A thin, bendy cord made by twisting threads together.
   - _He wrapped the parcel and secured it with string._
   - _The gardener used strings to mark straight rows for planting._
2. A connected series of items or events occurring one after another.
   - Simple: A number of things or events that come one after another.
   - _The detective linked a string of robberies to the same suspect._
   - _Her latest album produced a string of hit songs._
3. A length of wire or similar material on a musical instrument that vibrates to produce sound.
   - Simple: A thin wire or cord on an instrument that makes sound when it shakes quickly.
   - _The violinist replaced a worn string before the recital._
   - _Pressing the string against the fret raises its pitch._
4. An ordered sequence of text characters stored together in memory and handled as a single unit.
   - Simple: A row of letters, numbers, or symbols that a computer stores together as one item.
   - _The function returns a string containing the formatted date._
   - _Developers often compare two strings to check whether they match._
5. 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.
   - Simple: One or more instruments with strings, especially the violins, cellos, and similar instruments in an orchestra, or the people who play them.
   - _The conductor asked the strings to play more quietly during the second movement._
   - _A rich string sound carried the whole symphony._
7. A thread or cord on which objects are arranged in close, orderly succession, or a line of things arranged as if on a thread.
   - Simple: A thread that holds objects in a neat row, or a line of objects arranged as if on a thread.
   - _A string of pearls lay coiled in the velvet box._
   - _Tiny islands form a string along the coast._
8. 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.
   - Simple: A long, thin piece of something that looks like string, such as seaweed or stretched melted cheese.
   - _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._
9. The conditions and limitations attached to an agreement, considered together.
   - Simple: The rules and limits that come along with an agreement or offer.
   - _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._
10. A tier of players on a team ranked by ability, especially the group considered most likely to succeed.
   - Simple: A set of players on a team grouped by skill, such as the starters or the backups.
   - _She earned a place on the first string after a strong tryout._
   - _Injuries forced the coach to rely on the second string._
11. A tiny, one-dimensional, stringlike entity that is the fundamental object of study in string theory.
   - Simple: An extremely tiny, threadlike object that some scientists think is the smallest part of all matter.
   - _According to string theory, every particle is a vibrating string._
   - _Different vibration patterns of a string correspond to different particles._
15. A length of nylon, gut, or similar material strung across the head of a racquet.
   - Simple: A thin cord of nylon, gut, or similar material stretched across the head of a racquet.
   - _She restrung her racquet because a string had frayed._
   - _Players choose a string based on the spin and control they want._
16. A drove of horses; also, the racehorses belonging to one owner or trained at one stable.
   - Simple: A group of racehorses owned or trained by the same person.
   - _Her string of thoroughbreds took three races at the spring meet._
   - _The trainer added two yearlings to his string this season._
18. A group of prostitutes managed or controlled by a single pimp. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A group of prostitutes working under one pimp's control.
   - _The pimp kept a string of women working the motels near the highway._
   - _He controlled a string of women across three city blocks._
13. The tough fiber that runs along the seams of a bean pod or other legume pod and holds its two halves together.
   - Simple: The tough thread along the edge of a bean pod, or a pod like it, that holds the two sides 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._

## Verb

6. To thread or arrange items onto a string in succession.
   - Simple: To put things onto a string, one after another.
   - _They strung lanterns along the porch for the party._
   - _Children love to string colorful beads during craft time._
12. To form into a string or strings, as a stretched substance does, or as a moving line of people does.
   - Simple: To stretch out into a long, thin line, as a soft substance does or as people in a row do.
   - _The hot mozzarella strings whenever you lift a slice._
   - _The cyclists string out over the hills as the race wears on._
14. To fit something, such as a musical instrument or racquet, with strings.
   - Simple: To put strings onto something, such as an instrument or a racquet.
   - _A luthier strung the violin with fresh gut strings._
   - _It takes real skill to string a harp correctly._

## Noun

17. A hoax or fabricated story intended to deceive. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A trick or made-up story meant to fool people.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A projecting horizontal band of brick, stone, or molding running across the face of a building.
- (noun) A column of connected drill pipe that carries drilling fluid and torque down to the drill bit.
- (noun) Cannabis or marijuana.
- (noun) A certain number of turns at play or rounds in various games and competitions.
- (noun) In billiards, the line from behind which the cue ball must be played after it has gone out of play, as by being pocketed or knocked off the table.
- (verb) Among birders, to deliberately claim a bird is present when it is not, or to mislead others about a sighting, especially of a rarity.
- (noun) A board that supports the steps of a staircase.
- (noun) In billiards, the procedure for determining the order of play, in which each player shoots a ball off the far rail and sees whose comes to rest nearest the bottom rail.
- (verb) In billiards, to drive a ball to the far end of the table and back in order to determine which player opens the game.
- (noun) The points made or scored in a game of billiards.
- (noun) A strip of leather or similar material that holds the covers of a book together.
- (noun) In billiards, the buttons strung on a wire above the table by which the score is kept.
- (noun) A plant fiber, or a fine, thread-like root.
- (noun) Any of the cords in the body, such as a tendon or a nerve.
- (noun) A row of planks lining the inside of a ship's hull, set opposite the outer sheer strake and bolted to it.
- (noun) A thin, thread-like branch of a vein of metal ore.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–5, 7–11, 13, 15–18** — From Middle English string, from Old English strenġ, from Proto-Germanic *strangiz ('string'), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *strengʰ- ('rope, cord, strand; to tighten'). It is related to Dutch streng ('cord, strand'), German Strang ('strand, cord, rope'), and Latin stringō ('I tighten').
**Meanings 6, 12, 14** — From Middle English stryngen, formed from the noun string.

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