straw
noun · adjective · verb
Simple meaning
A dried stalk of a cereal plant.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
strawIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈstɹɔ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
countable
A dried stalk of a cereal plant.
uncountable
Such dried stalks considered collectively; this bulk matter may be a chief salable product, a by-product, fodder, bedding, or green manure, depending on region and on current market conditions.
figurativechiefly in the negative
Anything proverbially worthless; the least possible thing.
countable
A drinking straw.
A straw owner.
adjective
Of a pale, yellowish beige colour, like that of a dried straw.
figurative
Imaginary, but presented as real.
Made of straw.
verb
To lay straw around plants to protect them from frost.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- General and technical use
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A dried stalk of a cereal plant.
Used this way, straw is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A stiff hat made of straw with a flat crown.
A person used as a cover for some questionable activity.
Small tropical and subtropical edible mushroom having a white cap and long stem.
An unofficial vote taken to determine opinion on some issue.
An unofficial vote taken to determine opinion on some issue.
Sweet wine from grapes partially sun-dried on the vine or on straw mats.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “straw” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.