<B>stratosphere, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the region of the atmosphere between the troposphere and mesosphere. It extends from about 10 to 30 miles above the earth. In the stratosphere temperature varies little with changes in altitude, and the winds are chiefly horizontal. <DD><B> 2. </B>(formerly) the stratosphere and ionosphere together. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) a high or rarefied region. <BR> <I>Ex. On one point he seemed to take off into a stratosphere of fancy (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="stratospheric">
<B>stratospheric, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the stratosphere. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) But that would mean tax rates would stay at their present stratospheric height (Wall Street Journal).</I> adv. <B>stratospherically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="stratotanker">
<B>stratotanker, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a tanker plane that can refuel bombers at high altitudes. </DL>
<A NAME="stratum">
<B>stratum, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ta</B> or <B>-tums.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a layer of material, especially one of several parallel layers placed one upon another. <BR> <I>Ex. to lay several strata of gravel on a road. In digging the well, the men struck a stratum of sand, then one of clay and finally a stratum of rock.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Geology.) a bed or formation of sedimentary rock consisting throughout of approximately the same kind of material. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) a social level; group having about the same education, culture, development, or taste. <BR> <I>Ex. Tramps are in a low stratum of society.</I> (SYN) caste. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Biology.) a layer of tissue; lamella. <DD><B> 5. </B>a religion of the atmosphere or of the sea assumed as bounded by horizontal planes for purposes of calculation. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Linguistics.) any one of several levels in which language can be analyzed. A word may be analyzed at the phonemic, morphemic, or semantic stratum. </DL>
<A NAME="stratumcorneum">
<B>stratum corneum,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the horny outer layer of the skin, consisting of broad, thin cells. </DL>
<A NAME="stratus">
<B>stratus, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ti.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a low, uniform, horizontal layer of gray cloud that spreads over a large area, occurring at heights under 6,500 feet. </DL>
<A NAME="straussian">
<B>Straussian, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with the German musical composer and conductor Richard Strauss (1864-1949) or his musical style, theories, or compositions. <DD><I>noun </I> a follower of Richard Strauss or his works. </DL>
<B>stravaig, </B>intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Scottish and Northern English.) to wander about aimlessly; roam. <BR> <I>Ex. The squadron leader said ... "I don't want you lot stravaiging around the town" (Listener).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="stravinskian">
<B>Stravinskian, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with the Russian-born American composer Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) or his musical style and works. <BR> <I>Ex. ... Stravinskian cacophony (New Yorker).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a follower of Igor Stravinsky or his works. </DL>
<A NAME="straw">
<B>straw, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the stalks or stems of grain after drying and threshing. Straw is used for bedding for horses and cows, for making hats, and for many other purposes. <DD><B> 2. </B>one such stem or stalk. Straws are hollow. <DD><B> 3. </B>a tube. Straws made of waxed paper, plastic, or glass are used for sucking up drinks. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) <DD><B> a. </B>a bit; trifle. <BR> <I>Ex. He doesn't care a straw.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a minor thing that indicates how something else may turn out. <BR> <I>Ex. Already there are a few straws which the Republican National Committee is eying hopefully (Harper's).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(Informal.) a straw hat. <BR> <I>Ex. I've already talked about her glorious flower-laden straws (New Yorker).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>made of straw. <BR> <I>Ex. a straw hat.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>of the color of straw; pale-yellow; straw-colored. <BR> <I>Ex. a straw coat.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) of little value or consequence; worthless. <BR> <I>Ex. a straw bid.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>of or having to do with an unofficial or informal collecting of votes. <BR> <I>Ex. If the straw ballots are accurate, the Conservative candidate may draw as many as 400,000 votes (New York Times).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>grasp</B> (or <B>clutch,</B> or <B>catch</B>) <B>at straws</B> (or <B>at a straw</B>), </I>to try anything in desperation. <BR> <I>Ex. Girls desperate for friendship and kindness ... tend to clutch at straws (Manchester Guardian Weekly). A drowning man will catch at a straw, the proverb says (Samuel Richardson).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>straw in the wind,</B> </I>something taken as an indication of a trend. <BR> <I>Ex. A more specific election straw in the wind can be found in yesterday's heavy buying of steel shares (Wall Street Journal).</I> adj. <B>strawlike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="strawbail">
<B>straw bail,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> bail furnished by a person not possessing the property he pretends to have. </DL>
<A NAME="strawbass">
<B>straw bass,</B> <B>=largemouth bass.</B></DL>
<A NAME="strawberry">
<B>strawberry, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a small, juicy, red fruit that is good to eat. It has many tiny, yellow seeds on the skin. <DD><B> 2. </B>the low plant that it grows on. The varieties of strawberry comprise a genus of the rose family. </DL>
<A NAME="strawberrybass">
<B>strawberry bass,</B> <B>=calico bass.</B></DL>
<A NAME="strawberryblite">
<B>strawberry blite,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a low, weedy plant of the goosefoot family with globular clusters of flowers and bright-red fruit. </DL>
<A NAME="strawberryblonde">
<B>strawberry blonde</B> or <B>blond,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a person, especially a girl or woman, with reddish blonde hair. </DL>
<A NAME="strawberrybush">
<B>strawberry bush,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a low, upright or straggling North American shrub of the staff-tree family with crimson fruit and seeds with scarlet coverings. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=wahoo</B> (1). </DL>
<A NAME="strawberryfinch">
<B>strawberry finch,</B> <B>=amadavat.</B></DL>
<A NAME="strawberryguava">
<B>strawberry guava,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a species of guava growing in Brazil and yielding a dark-red fruit. <DD><B> 2. </B>the fruit. </DL>
<A NAME="strawberryleaf">
<B>strawberry leaf,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the trifoliate leaflike ornament on the coronet of a duke, marquis, or earl, commonly taken as the symbol of the rank involved. </DL>
<A NAME="strawberrymark">
<B>strawberry mark,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a soft, reddish birthmark slightly raised above the skin. </DL>
<A NAME="strawberryshrub">
<B>strawberry shrub,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) any one of various shrubs having brownish or purplish-red flowers with a fragrance like that of strawberries. </DL>
<A NAME="strawberrytomato">
<B>strawberry tomato,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the small, edible, yellowish or greenish fruit of a ground cherry that looks like a tomato. <DD><B> 2. </B>the plant it grows on. </DL>
<A NAME="strawberrytree">
<B>strawberry tree,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a low evergreen tree of the heath family having a bright-scarlet fruit resembling a strawberry, cultivated for ornament. </DL>
<A NAME="strawboard">
<B>strawboard, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a coarse, yellowish cardboard made of straw pulp, used for boxes and packing. </DL>
<A NAME="strawboss">
<B>straw boss,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Informal.) an assistant foreman. </DL>
<A NAME="strawcloth">
<B>straw cloth,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> cloth of natural or synthetic straw, used especially for hats and handbags. </DL>
<A NAME="strawcolor">
<B>straw color,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the color of straw; pale yellow. </DL>
<A NAME="strawcolored">
<B>straw-colored, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of a straw color; pale-yellow. <BR> <I>Ex. straw-colored hair.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="strawflower">
<B>strawflower, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various flowers that keep their shape and color when dry, especially a tall annual herb of the composite family, having yellow, orange, red, or white flowers. </DL>
<A NAME="strawhat">
<B>straw-hat, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) of or having to do with plays, concerts, or the like, performed during the summer in suburban or country areas. <BR> <I>Ex. a straw-hat theater. The show tried out with some success on the straw-hat circuits this summer (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="strawman">
<B>straw man,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an imaginary opponent or opposing argument, put up in order to be defeated or refuted; man of straw. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person put up as a surety in a fraudulent action. <BR> <I>Ex. The usual procedure ... is for straw men to set up the Corporation and then resign to turn it over to its directors (Wall Street Journal).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B><B>=puppet </B>(def. 1b). </DL>
<A NAME="strawpoll">
<B>straw poll,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an unofficial poll taken to estimate the amount of support for or strength of opposing candidates or opinions on various issues. <BR> <I>Ex. A straw poll shows him leading other contenders for the nomination (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="strawride">
<B>straw ride,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a hayride. </DL>
<A NAME="strawstack">
<B>strawstack, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a large, outdoor pile of straw. </DL>
<A NAME="strawvote">
<B>straw vote,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an unofficial vote taken to find out general opinion or to estimate the strength of opposing candidates. <BR> <I>Ex. The continued strength of the Labor party is suggested by straw votes (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="strawwine">
<B>straw wine,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> wine made from grapes dried or partly dried in the sun on straw, usually sweet and rich. </DL>
<A NAME="strawworm">
<B>strawworm, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the larva of certain chalcid flies, that attacks grain stalks. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=caddis worm.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="strawy">
<B>strawy, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of, containing, or like straw. <DD><B> 2. </B>strewn or thatched with straw. </DL>
<A NAME="strawyard">
<B>strawyard, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a yard littered with straw, in which horses and cattle are wintered. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Informal.) a man's straw hat. </DL>
