strut 1
— strutter , n.
/strut/ , v. , strutted, strutting , n.
v.i.
1. to walk with a vain, pompous bearing, as with head erect and chest thrown out, as if expecting to impress observers.
v.t.
2. strut one's stuff , to dress, behave, perform, etc., one's best in order to impress others; show off.
n.
3. the act of strutting.
4. a strutting walk or gait.
[ bef. 1000; ME strouten to protrude stiffly, swell, bluster, OE strutian to struggle, deriv. of * strut (whence ME strut strife) ]
Syn. 1. parade, flourish. STRUT and SWAGGER refer especially to carriage in walking. STRUT implies swelling pride or pompousness; to STRUT is to walk with a stiff, pompous, seemingly affected or self-conscious gait: A turkey struts about the barnyard. SWAGGER implies a domineering, sometimes jaunty, superiority or challenge, and a self-important manner: to swagger down the street.
strut 2
/strut/ , n. , v. , strutted, strutting .
n.
1. any of various structural members, as in trusses, primarily intended to resist longitudinal compression. See diags. under king post, queen post .
v.t.
2. to brace or support by means of a strut or struts.
[ 1565-75; obscurely akin to STRUT 1 ]