strait

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A narrow channel joining two larger bodies of water.
• noun A position of difficulty, perplexity, distress, or need.
• adjective Difficult; stressful.
• adjective Having or marked by limited funds or resources.
• adjective Narrow or confined.
• adjective Fitting tightly; constricted.
• adjective Strict, rigid, or righteous.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To make strait or narrow; narrow; straiten; contract.
• To stretch; draw tight; tighten.
• To press hard; put to difficulties; distress; puzzle; perplex.
• Narrowly; tightly; closely; strictly; rigorously; strenuously; hard.
• An old spelling of straight.
• noun plural See cod-liver oil.
• Narrow; having little breadth or width.
• Confined; restricted; limited in space or accommodation; close.
• Of time, short; scant.
• Tight.
• Close.
• Strict; careful.
• Close-fisted; stingy; avaricious.
• Strict; rigorous; exacting.
• Sore; great; difficult; distressing.
• Hard-pressed; straitened; hampered.
• noun A narrow pass or passage.
• noun Specifically, a narrow passage of water connecting two bodies of water: often used in the plural: as, the Strait or Straits of Gibraltar; the Straits of Magellan; the Straits of Dover. Abbreviated St.
• noun A strip of land between two bodies of water; an isthmus.
• noun A narrow alley in London.
• noun A tight or narrow place; difficulty; distress; need; case of necessity: often in the plural.
• noun plural Cloth of single width, as opposed to broad cloth: a term in use in the sixteenth century and later.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• adjective obsolete A variant of straight.
• adverb obsolete Strictly; rigorously.
• transitive verb obsolete To put to difficulties.
• adjective Narrow; not broad.
• adjective Tight; close; closely fitting.
• adjective obsolete Close; intimate; near; familiar.
• adjective Strict; scrupulous; rigorous.
• adjective Difficult; distressful; straited.
• adjective obsolete Parsimonious; niggargly; mean.
• noun A narrow pass or passage.
• noun (Geog.) A (comparatively) narrow passageway connecting two large bodies of water; -- often in the plural
• noun rare A neck of land; an isthmus.
• noun Fig.: A condition of narrowness or restriction; doubt; distress; difficulty; poverty; perplexity; -- sometimes in the plural.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• adjective archaic Narrow; restricted as to space or room; close.
• adjective archaic Righteous, strict.
• noun geography A narrow channel of water connecting two larger bodies of water.
• noun A difficult position (often used in plural)
• verb obsolete To put to difficulties.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• adjective narrow