Meanings
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1
noun
A single thin piece of something like hair, thread, or rope.
A loose strand of hair fell across her face.
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2
noun
One part of a larger story, plan, or idea.
The novel weaves together several strands of the same family's history.
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3
verb
To leave someone in a place they cannot get away from.
The storm stranded hundreds of passengers at the airport overnight.
Thesaurus
Etymology
Origin uncertain. Cognate with Scots stran, strawn, strand (“strand”). Perhaps the same as strand ("rivulet, stream, gutter"; see Etymology 1 above); or from Middle English *stran, from Old French estran (“a rope, cord”), from Middle High German stren, strene (“skein, strand”), from Old High German streno, from Proto-West Germanic *strenō, from Proto-Germanic *strinô (“strip, strand”), from Proto-Indo-European *strēy-, *ster- (“strip, line, streak, ray, stripe, row”); related to Dutch streng (“skein, hank of thread, strand, string”), German Strähne (“skein, hank of thread, strand of hair”). Co…