strang ‧ er S2 W2 /ˈstreɪndʒə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ stranger , ↑ strangeness , ↑ estrangement ; adjective : ↑ strange , ↑ estranged ; adverb : ↑ strangely ]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: estrangier , from estrange ; ⇨ ↑ strange 1 ]
1 . someone that you do not know:
Children must not talk to strangers.
perfect/complete/total stranger (=used to emphasize that you do not know them)
Julie finds it easy to speak to complete strangers.
► Do not use stranger to mean ‘a person from another country’. Use foreigner or, more politely, say that someone is from abroad/overseas .
2 . be no stranger to something to have had a lot of a particular kind of experience:
a politician who is no stranger to controversy
3 . someone in a new and unfamiliar place:
‘Where’s the station?’ ‘Sorry, I’m a stranger here myself.’
4 . hello, stranger! spoken used to greet someone who you have not seen for a long time
5 . don’t be a stranger! spoken used when someone is leaving to invite them back to see you soon
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ a complete/perfect/total stranger (=used to emphasize that you do not know the person)
Really, I don't know why I'm revealing all this to a complete stranger.
▪ a virtual stranger (=someone you hardly know)
I hadn't seen him for so long that he seemed like a virtual stranger.
▪ a passing stranger (=one you pass in the street)
Do not give your camera to a passing stranger and ask him to take a picture of you.
▪ a mysterious stranger
She never knew who the mysterious stranger was who had helped her that night.