I. ˈstrand, -aa(ə)nd noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English strand, strond, from Old English strand; akin to Middle Low German & Middle Dutch strant shore, beach, Old Norse strönd border, edge, seashore, Latin sternere to spread out — more at strew
1. : the land bordering a body of water : shore: as
a.
(1) : the beach of the ocean, a sea, or an arm of the ocean
(2) : the land alternately covered and uncovered by the tide
b. : the bank of a stream
2. obsolete : wharf , quay
3. archaic : a faraway region
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1.
a. : to run, drive, or cause to drift onto a strand : run aground : beach
pearly nautilus shells … have been found stranded … far south — Joyce Allan
left our boats stranded — William Beebe
b. : to leave behind by or as if by the receding of water
the cave suddenly drained off and stranded the fish — American Guide Series: Tennessee
the skull … which the hurricane had left stranded in the fork of a big water oak — W.F.Davis
2. : to place in an unfavorable position : leave without means of coping with the surroundings
when a wild and open land becomes … settled, certain men will be stranded in the new, restricting, and alien environment — Francis Ratcliffe
specifically : to leave in an alien town or country without funds or means to depart
he returned … almost penniless after paying his railroad fare from the … town where the company had been stranded — Current Biography
intransitive verb
: to become stranded : become propelled onto a shore
the ship stranded at length on the island — Isobel Hutchison
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English strand, strond, strund, perhaps from strand (I)
1. Scot & dialect England
a. : stream , current
b. : sea
2. Scot & dialect England : channel , gutter
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English strond, of unknown origin
1.
a.
(1) : fibers or filaments twisted, plaited, or laid parallel to form a unit for further twisting or plaiting into yarn, thread, rope, or cordage : one of the components of a plied yarn, thread, or rope
6- strand embroidery floss
(2) : one of the wires twisted together or laid parallel to form a wire rope or cable or an electrical conductor
b. : a thread, yarn, string, rope, wire, or cable especially when of suitable length, strength, or construction for a particular purpose
miles of open downland without a strand of barbed wire — Anthony West
the tug pulls, tightening the steel strand — C.G.Bell
2. : an element (as a yarn, thread, filament, or reed) of a woven or plaited material
3. : an elongated or twisted and plaited body resembling a rope
a strand of pearls
wet strands of hair were plastered on her cheek — Sheila Kaye-Smith
4. : a continuous patterned or structured whole forming a unity within a complex organization or activity
several strands of melody are heard at once — Robert Donington
the wife comes back … to pick up the strands of married life again — C.A.Lejeune
5. South : a pile of wood 8 feet by 4 feet by from 12 inches to 24 or 30 inches
V. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to break a strand of (a rope) accidentally
2.
a. : to form (as a rope) from strands
b. : to play out, twist, or arrange in a strand
six pairs of copper wires insulated with polyethylene are stranded around a steel core — Annual Report of American Tel. & Tel. Co.
fourteen hundred feet of … hose were stranded from the catch basin over the hill to the reservoir — Fyr-Fyter News
3.
a. : to lay a thread along an edge of (as a buttonhole) as a foundation for buttonholing
b. : to carry (an attached yarn) along the back in knitting having colored designs