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strad|dle /stræ d ^ə l/ (straddles , straddling , straddled )

1 VERB If you straddle something, you put or have one leg on either side of it. □ [V n] He sat down, straddling the chair.

2 VERB If something straddles a river, road, border, or other place, it stretches across it or exists on both sides of it. □ [V n] A small wooden bridge straddled the dike. □ [V n] Salcey Forest straddles the Buckingham-Northamptonshire border.

3 VERB Someone or something that straddles different periods, groups, or fields of activity exists in, belongs to, or takes elements from them all. □ [V n] She's a writer who straddles two genres - she writes online games as well as literary novels.

strafe /stre I f/ (strafes , strafing , strafed ) VERB To strafe an enemy means to attack them with a lot of bombs or bullets from a low-flying aircraft. □ [V n] It seemed that the plane was going to swoop down and strafe the town, so we dived for cover.

strag|gle /stræ g ^ə l/ (straggles , straggling , straggled )

1 VERB If people straggle somewhere, they move there slowly, in small groups with large, irregular gaps between them. □ [V prep/adv] They came straggling up the cliff road.

2 VERB If a small quantity of things straggle over an area, they cover it in an uneven or untidy way. □ [V prep] Her grey hair straggled in wisps about her face. □ [V -ing] They were beyond the last straggling suburbs now.

strag|gler /stræ gələ ^r / (stragglers ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] The stragglers are the people in a group who are moving more slowly or making less progress than the others. □  There were two stragglers twenty yards back.

strag|gly /stræ gəli/ ADJ Straggly hair or a straggly plant is thin and grows or spreads out untidily in different directions. □  Her long fair hair was knotted and straggly.

straight ◆◆◇ /stre I t/ (straighter , straightest , straights )

1 ADJ A straight line or edge continues in the same direction and does not bend or curve. □  Keep the boat in a straight line. □  Using the straight edge as a guide, trim the cloth to size. □  There wasn't a single straight wall in the building. ● ADV [ADV after v] Straight is also an adverb. □  Stand straight and stretch the left hand to the right foot.

2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Straight hair has no curls or waves in it. □  Grace had long straight dark hair which she wore in a bun.

3 ADV You use straight to indicate that the way from one place to another is very direct, with no changes of direction. □  The ball fell straight to the feet of the striker. □  He finished his conversation and stood up, looking straight at me. □  Straight ahead were the low cabins of the motel.

4 ADV If you go straight to a place, you go there immediately. □  As always, we went straight to the experts for advice.

5 ADJ [ADJ n] If you give someone a straight answer, you answer them clearly and honestly. □  What a shifty arguer he is, refusing ever to give a straight answer. ● ADV [ADV after v] Straight is also an adverb. □  I lost my temper and told him straight that I hadn't been looking for any job.

6 ADJ [ADJ n] Straight means following one after the other, with no gaps or intervals. □  They'd won 12 straight games before they lost. ● ADV [n ADV ] Straight is also an adverb. □  He called from Weddington, having been there for 31 hours straight.