<p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>Often straits. (used with a singular verb) a narrow passage of water connecting two large bodies of water.</li><li>Often straits. a position of difficulty, distress, or need: Ill and penniless, he was in sad straits indeed.</li><li>Synonyms: plight, predicament, dilemma, pinch, exigency</li><li>Antonyms: ease</li><li>Archaic. a narrow passage or area.</li><li>an isthmus.</li></ul><p><strong>Adjective</strong></p><ul><li>Archaic. narrow: Strait is the gate.</li><li>affording little space; confined in area.</li><li>strict, as in requirements or principles.</li></ul>