of the imagination | by no stretch of the imagin­ation used to say strongly that sth is not true, even if you try to imagine or believe it          7■;

til 7: She could not, by any stretch of the imagin­ation, be called beautiful 177.

stretcher /’stretJ0(r)/ noun, verb

m noun a long piece of strong cloth with a pole on each side, used for carrying sb who is sick or injured and who cannot walk #3       : He was carried off on a

stretcher.   o stretcher cases (= people

too badly injured to be able to walk) & M     ^ fa Eft

■ verb [VN +adv./prep.] [usually passive] to carry sb some­where on a stretcher          He was stretchered off

the pitch with a broken leg.

T£o

’stretcher-bearer noun a person who helps to carry a stretcher, especially in a war or when there is a very serious accident

.stretch ’limo noun (also formal .stretch limou'sine) a very large car that has been made longer so that it can have extra seats

'stretch marks noun [pi.] the marks that are left on a person’s skin after it has been stretched, particularly after a woman has been pregnant ( jtlb 714 )7 W

ift )

stretchy /'stretji/ adj. that can easily be made longer or wider without tearing or breaking 7 #17 Eft : stretchy fabric mmmPM

strew /stru:/ verb (strewed, strewed, strewn, /strum/) 1 [VN] [usually passive] ~ A on, over, across, etc. B | ~ B with A to cover a surface with things fE- •• ft.). ;       ( J&Wiffi ) . H23 SCATTER: Clothes

were strewn across the floor.      0 The

floor was strewn with clothes. f$j itfe Je 7 IM 0 0 (figura­tive) The way ahead is strewn with difficulties, mf ® Eft if i?67$t)til)ftl^Ki0 2 [VN] to be spread or lying over a surface 7 $t; ]$: ; ffc }# 7 • ■ • J: : Leaves strewed the

path.

strewth /stru:0/ exclamation (old-fashioned, BrE, slang) used to express surprise, anger, etc. ( ^7^*7

m) m,

stri ation /strai'eijn/ noun [usually pi.] (technical 7 iff) a striped pattern on sth, especially on a muscle t jttaUl ®±lft )

stricken /'strikan/ adj. {formal) 1 ~ (with/by sth) seriously affected by an unpleasant feeling or disease or by a difficult situation ft M Eft; B /r*J if};

Eft: She raised her stricken face and begged for help. M Wit.         Bio O Whole villages were stricken

with the disease. ®o He was stricken by a heart attack on his fiftieth birthday. 1777 7 7 7 0 3P A7 ift M ff o o We went to the aid of the stricken boat. 7 ft] fy 7 # I/j SP ® 7 7 Eft ffn Q 2 (in compounds 7j$cS) rfi*]) seriously affected by the thing mentioned if       • “ Eft;          poverty-stricken

families     — see also grief-stricken, horror-

struck, PANIC-STRICKEN

Strict Onr /strikt/ adj. (stricter, strict-est)

1 that must be obeyed exactly 716 Eft (        ) :

strict rules/regulations/discipline /'76Eft MM'J /

J5 IftW O She left strict instructions that she was not to be disturbed. >7 7?#fT $£ fife 0 0 He told me in

the strictest confidence (= on the understanding that

1                  would tell nobody else), ftfe f^    n , fit il?

7 7 „ o She’s on a very strict diet, itfe j£ f* f6 7 fP ,

2                  demanding that rules, especially rules about behav­iour, should be obeyed If A fm 16 Eft ;      [7 Eft: a strict

teacher/parent/disciplinarian 7*         Eft f& !lii / ( '# )

7 / ikfitdfftt O She’s very strict about things like home­work. Wrtff #. 7 m Eft mm7 f- #r m „ o They were always very strict with their children, ftk-ff]Mf'jk—Eft 7 ft f-f6 0       3 obeying the rules of a particular religion,

belief, etc. exactly 1&7$cM (        ) Eft: a strict

Muslim f& 7 ffc M Eft % Wt # 0 a strict vegetarian # 1ft M & # 4 [usually before noun] very exact and clearly defined im Eft: 7 W, Eft : fil W: It wasn’t illegal in

I 1999

the strict sense (of the word). 7        , & 7 % ii£ Ik 0

► strict-ness noun [U]

Strictly o-w /'striktli/ adv.

1 with a lot of control and rules that must be obeyed i&: She was brought up very strictly. / o The industry is strictly regulated.

EftlfJIo 2 used to emphasize that sth happens or must happen in all circumstances ( EM iH fE — fU 'If #1 fP M bti lit )   Ena ABSOLUTELY: Smoking is

strictly forbidden.       0 0     0 My letter is, of course,

strictly private and confidential. ■-] ft, fc W ft ^ il fA A f| #, b M (%■ ^ o 3 in all details; exactly tit;   ^0

ffe: This is not strictly true. c 4 used to

emphasize that sth only applies to one particular person, thing or situation (

) K, fXKT ETn purely: We7Z look at the problem from a strictly legal point of view. (\1 K W ^ it M W S 7“ 1^S] ^ c O I know we’re friends, but this is strictly business. fSftlif          0

fR71 strictly speaking if you are using words or rules in their exact or correct sense f* 16 i# : Strictly speaking, the book is not a novel, but a short story,

im,

stricture /’striktj'0(r)/ noun (formal) 1 [usually pi ] ~ (on sb/sth) a severe criticism, especially of sb’s behaviour ^ ®^ 1$. 2 ~ (against/on sth) a rule or situation that restricts your behaviour W. rfrj ; W ^ ; %% Em restriction : strictures against civil servants expressing political opinions stride /straid/ verb, noun

* verb (pt strode /straod; NAmE strood/) (not used in the perfect tenses          [V + adv./prep.] to walk with

long steps in a particular direction 7^7; M We strode across the snowy fields.

^[ElWffo 0 She came striding along to meet me. M7

m noun 1 one long step; the distance covered by a step 7 7; -^7 ( EftlSiSj ) Em pace: He crossed the room in two strides. fibM77^5!JM7^ ”'70 01 was gaining on the other runners with every stride. $£IE — 77S7 iszft M c 2 your way of walking or running 7^; 7 : his familiar purposeful stride  $1$ B ^ ® M aE Eft

7 ffe 0 She did not slow her stride until she was face to face with us. ®r£M1iP7,     3 an

improvement in the way sth is developing jffi M® 7;  We’re making great strides in the search for

a cure.       ^niF.7ir^#S7?a^c

4 strides [pi.] (AustralE, informal) trousers/pants $$ 7 fT7T?l get into your stride (BrE) (NAmE hit (your) stride) to begin to do sth with confidence and at a good speed after a slow, uncertain start      ff

put sb off their 'stride to make sb take their attention off what they are doing and stop doing it so well        ®^7pM (match sb) .stride for

stride to keep doing sth as well as sb else, even though they keep making it harder for you 7 It 7 $1/5 ( 7^7 ) take sth in your 'stride (BrE) (NAmE take sth in 'stride) to accept and deal with sth difficult without letting it worry you too much fk # M ; ^ B 7 without breaking ’stride (especially NAmT) without stopping what you are doing 7 il 7 7 ; (7 W

7.SL

stri dent /'straidnt/ adj. 1 having a loud, rough and unpleasant sound $i] 7- Eft: a strident voice $ij 7 W %# 0 strident music #ij 7 W # 7 2 aggressive and determined ® 5f El'j ; Bill il K Eft : He is a strident advocate of nuclear power, fik7 fit M W M xe M ift ^ „ o strident criticism M B Eft ff- 7 ► stri dency /'straidansi/ noun [U] stri dent ly adv.

Strife /straif/ noun 1 [U] (formal or literary) angry or violent disagreement between two people or groups of people Z1/1 ^; 77; f® 7 conflict : civil strife 7 5L o The country was torn apart by strife. 3&7IS rMM. 7] n|5 7 %.P9 7* h.    o 2 (AustralE, NZE) trouble or

difficulty of any kind      7U7 [tJ7

Strike Otw /straik/ verb, noun s* verb (struck, struck /strAk/)