straw

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /stɹɔː/
• (US) IPA: /stɹɔ/
  • (cot–caught merger) IPA: /stɹɑ/

Noun

straw (countable and uncountable, plural straws)

1. (countable) A dried stalk of a cereal plant.
2. (uncountable) Such dried stalks considered collectively; this bulk matter may be a chief salable product, a by-product, fodder, bedding, or green manure, depending on region and on current market conditions.
   • Coordinate terms: hay, stover, shaw, trash
3. (countable) A drinking straw.
4. (uncommon) A pale, yellowish beige colour, like that of a dried straw.
   • straw:  
5. (figurative) Anything proverbially worthless; the least possible thing.

Adjective

straw (not comparable)

1. Made of straw.
   • Synonym: strawen
   • straw hat
2. Of a pale, yellowish beige colour, like that of a dried straw.
3. (figurative) Imaginary, but presented as real.
   • A straw enemy built up in the media to seem like a real threat, which then collapses like a balloon.

Verb

straw (third-person singular simple present straws, present participle strawing, simple past and past participle strawed)

1. To lay straw around plants to protect them from frost.
2. (obsolete, slang) To sell straws on the streets in order to cover the giving to the purchaser of things usually banned, such as pornography.

Anagrams

• Swart, swart, warts

Alternative forms

• strau, strawe, straugh, strauȝ, strawwe, stre, stree, stra, straa, strey, streaw, strew, streuw

Pronunciation

• IPA: /strau̯/, /streː/
• (Northern ME) IPA: /strɑː/

Noun

straw (plural strawes or stren)

1. The remaining plant material after cultivation; halm, straw.
2. An individual piece or section of straw.
3. (figurative) Anything slight or worthless; the least possible thing.
4. (rare) A measure of weight for candlewax.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /straf/
• Syllabification: straw

Verb

straw

1. second-person singular imperative of strawić

Noun

straw f

1. genitive plural of strawa