/strayt"jak'it/ , n.
1. a garment made of strong material and designed to bind the arms, as of a violently disoriented person.
2. anything that severely confines, constricts, or hinders: Conventional attitudes can be a straitjacket, preventing original thinking.
v.t. Also, strait-jacket .
3. to put in or as in a straitjacket: Her ambition was straitjacketed by her family. Also, straightjacket .
[ 1805-15; STRAIT + JACKET ]