strut
pronunciation
How to pronounce strut in British English:
UK [strʌt]
How to pronounce strut in American English:
US [strʌt]
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- Noun:
- a proud stiff pompous gait
- brace consisting of a bar or rod used to resist longitudinal compression
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- Verb:
- to walk with a lofty proud gait, often in an attempt to impress others
Word Origin
- strut (v.)
- "walk in a vain, important manner, walk with affected dignity," 1590s, from Middle English strouten "display one's clothes proudly, vainly flaunt fine attire" (late 14c.), earlier "to stick out, protrude, bulge, swell," from Old English strutian "to stand out stiffly, swell or bulge out," from Proto-Germanic *strut- (cognates: Danish strutte, German strotzen "to be puffed up, be swelled," German Strauß "fight"), from PIE root *ster- (1) "strong, firm, stiff, rigid" (see stereo-). Originally of the air or the attitude; modern sense, focused on the walk, first recorded 1510s. Related: Strutted; strutting. To strut (one's) stuff is first recorded 1926, from strut as the name of a dance popular from c. 1900. The noun meaning "a vain and affectedly dignified manner of walking" is from c. 1600.
- strut (n.)
- "supporting brace," 1580s, perhaps from strut (v.), or a cognate word in Scandinavian (compare Norwegian strut "a spout, nozzle") or Low German (compare Low German strutt "rigid"); ultimately from Proto-Germanic *strutoz-, from root *strut- (see strut (v.)).
Example
- 1. Great and enduringly successful organisations are not stages on which geniuses can strut .
- 2. The final strut of the argument is that the politics are not as bad as they seem .
- 3. A major invention was the adjustable strut which , by altering the distance of the blade and the beam , could precisely set the depth of the plow .
- 4. So imagine yourself in the position of the pigeon ; your brain knows very little about the world of men , or cages , or automatic food dispensers . You strut around your cage for a while , you decide to turn counter clockwise three times , and right at that moment some food appears .