Meaning & use
straw
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Meanings
noununcountable
Dried stalks of grain plants, used for bedding, thatching, or making things.
Grammar: Uncountable when referring to the material; no plural form in this sense.
Patterns
- straw for something
- made of straw
The farmer spread straw on the floor of the barn.
They used straw to make baskets and hats.
The old cottage had a roof made of straw.
nouncountable
A thin tube used for sucking liquid from a container.
Grammar: Countable; you can say 'a straw' or 'two straws'.
Patterns
- drink through a straw
- a straw in a drink
She sipped her milkshake through a straw.
The waiter brought a glass of water with a straw.
Please don't use plastic straws; they harm the environment.
Word forms
| plural | straws |
|---|
Common combinations
- straw hat
- He wore a straw hat to protect himself from the sun.
- straw poll
- The newspaper conducted a straw poll to predict the election result.
- the last straw
- When he arrived late again, it was the last straw and she ended the relationship.
- straw man
- His argument was a straw man; he misrepresented her position.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hay
- Hay is dried grass used as animal feed, while straw is the dried stalks left after grain is harvested, often used for bedding.
Word family
- strawy adjective
- Having the color or texture of straw.
Commonly confused: straw or hay?
straw vs hay
Hay is dried grass for feeding animals; straw is the leftover stalks of grain crops, used for bedding or thatching.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'straw' correctly to mean the dried stalks of grain?
Choose one answer.
Option 1 refers to the material used as bedding. Options 0, 2, and 3 refer to the thin tube for drinking, which is a different sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “straw”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.