[streɪt], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a narrow passage of water connecting two seas or two other large areas of water
(e.g: the Straits of Gibraltar)

- used in reference to a situation characterized by a specified degree of trouble or difficulty
(e.g: the economy is in dire straits)


Phrases:

Origin:
Middle English: shortening of Old French estreit ‘tight, narrow’, from Latin strictus ‘drawn tight’ (see strict)

[streɪt], (Adjective)

Definitions:
- (of a place) of limited spatial capacity; narrow or cramped
(e.g: the road was so strait that a handful of men might have defended it)


Phrases:

Origin:
Middle English: shortening of Old French estreit ‘tight, narrow’, from Latin strictus ‘drawn tight’ (see strict)