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string

/strɪŋ/

/strɪŋ/

Other forms: strings; strung; stringing; stringed

A string is a strand of fiber that's thinner than a cord or a rope. You can tie on a Halloween mask with a string, or weave a friendship bracelet with a bunch of colorful strings.

Strings are useful for tying up packages and cinching the waist of your sweatpants. You can also have a figurative string, a series or sequence: "Our team had a string of wins." As a verb, string means "attach together" or "thread onto a string." It can also mean "put strings on an instrument" — you might string your new ukulele, for example. And when you "string someone along," you mislead them on purpose over and over again.

Definitions of string
  1. noun
    a lightweight cord
    synonyms: twine
    see moresee less
    types:
    chalk line, snap line, snapline
    a chalked string used in the building trades to make a straight line on a vertical surface
    packthread
    a strong three-ply twine used to sew or tie packages
    type of:
    cord
    a line made of twisted fibers or threads
  2. noun
    a tie consisting of a cord that goes through a seam around an opening
    synonyms: drawing string, drawstring
    see moresee less
    types:
    purse string
    a drawstring used to close the mouth of a purse
    type of:
    tie
    a cord (or string or ribbon or wire etc.) with which something is tied
  3. noun
    a collection of objects threaded on a single strand
    see moresee less
    types:
    beads, string of beads
    several beads threaded together on a string
    prayer beads, rosary
    a string of beads used in counting prayers (especially by Catholics)
    peag, wampum, wampumpeag
    small cylindrical beads made from polished shells and fashioned into strings or belts; used by certain Native American peoples as jewelry or currency
    type of:
    accumulation, aggregation, assemblage, collection
    several things grouped together or considered as a whole
  4. noun
    a necklace made by a stringing objects together
    “a string of beads”
    synonyms: chain, strand
    see moresee less
    type of:
    necklace
    jewelry consisting of a cord or chain (often bearing gems) worn about the neck as an ornament (especially by women)
  5. verb
    string together; tie or fasten with a string
    string the package”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    fasten, fix, secure
    cause to be firmly attached
  6. verb
    thread on or as if on a string
    string pearls on a string”
    synonyms: draw, thread
    draw, guide, pass, run
    pass over, across, or through
    see moresee less
    types:
    bead
    string together like beads
    wire
    string on a wire
    type of:
    arrange, set up
    put into a proper or systematic order
  7. noun
    a tightly stretched cord of wire or gut, which makes sound when plucked, struck, or bowed
    see moresee less
    types:
    snare
    strings stretched across the lower head of a snare drum; they make a rattling sound when the drum is hit
    type of:
    cord
    a line made of twisted fibers or threads
  8. noun
    stringed instruments that are played with a bow
    “the strings played superlatively well”
    synonyms: bowed stringed instrument
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 11 types...
    hide 11 types...
    bass fiddle, bass viol, bull fiddle, contrabass, double bass, string bass
    largest and lowest member of the violin family
    cello, violoncello
    a large stringed instrument; seated player holds it upright while playing
    viol
    any of a family of bowed stringed instruments that preceded the violin family
    viola
    a bowed stringed instrument slightly larger than a violin, tuned a fifth lower
    fiddle, violin
    bowed stringed instrument that is the highest member of the violin family; this instrument has four strings and a hollow body and an unfretted fingerboard and is played with a bow
    Amati
    a violin made by Nicolo Amati or a member of his family
    Guarnerius
    a violin made by a member of the Guarneri family
    Strad, Stradavarius
    a violin made by Antonio Stradivari or a member of his family
    viola da braccio
    a member of the viol family with approximately the range of a viola
    bass viol, gamba, viola da gamba
    viol that is the bass member of the viol family with approximately the range of the cello
    viola d'amore
    viol that is the tenor of the viol family
    type of:
    stringed instrument
    a musical instrument in which taut strings provide the source of sound
  9. verb
    provide with strings
    string my guitar”
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    unstring
    remove the strings from
    type of:
    alter, change, modify
    cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
  10. noun
    a sequentially ordered set of things or events or ideas in which each successive member is related to the preceding
    “a string of islands”
    synonyms: train
    see moresee less
    type of:
    series
    similar things placed in order or happening one after another
  11. noun
    a linear sequence of symbols (characters or words or phrases)
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 5 types...
    hide 5 types...
    extension, file name extension, filename extension
    a string of characters beginning with a period and followed by one or more letters; the optional second part of a PC computer filename
    linguistic string, string of words, word string
    a linear sequence of words as spoken or written
    substring
    a string that is part of a longer string
    sentence
    a string of words satisfying the grammatical rules of a language
    syntagm, syntagma
    a syntactic string of words that forms a part of some larger syntactic unit
    type of:
    sequence
    serial arrangement in which things follow in logical order or a recurrent pattern
  12. verb
    add as if on a string
    string these ideas together”
    string up these songs and you'll have a musical”
    synonyms: string up
    see moresee less
    type of:
    add
    make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
  13. verb
    stretch out or arrange like a string
    see moresee less
    type of:
    arrange, set up
    put into a proper or systematic order
  14. noun
    a tough piece of fiber in vegetables, meat, or other food (especially the tough fibers connecting the two halves of a bean pod)
    see moresee less
    type of:
    fiber, fibre
    a slender and greatly elongated substance capable of being spun into yarn
  15. verb
    remove the stringy parts of
    string beans”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    remove, take, take away, withdraw
    remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract
  16. noun
    (cosmology) a hypothetical one-dimensional subatomic particle having a concentration of energy and the dynamic properties of a flexible loop
    synonyms: cosmic string
    see moresee less
    type of:
    elementary particle, fundamental particle
    (physics) a particle that is less complex than an atom; regarded as constituents of all matter
  17. verb
    move or come along
    synonyms: string along
    see moresee less
    type of:
    advance, go on, march on, move on, pass on, progress
    move forward, also in the metaphorical sense
Pronunciation
US

/strɪŋ/

UK

/strɪŋ/

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