straiten

Everyday

1. (formal) To straiten is to make someone poorer or to limit what they have. tree →
2. (old) To straiten is to make something narrow or tight. tree →
3. «In straitened circumstances» (formal) means having very little money. tree →

In the lessons

A rare, formal word met in old books and stiff exam language. It mostly appears in the phrase «in straitened circumstances» or «straitened times», which tells the reader that a family or person is short of money. In everyday life people say «hard up», «short of money» or «broke».

Examples

• After the factory closed, the family lived in straitened circumstances. tree →
• The village was straitened by the long winter. tree →
• In straitened times, people mend their clothes instead of buying new ones. tree →
• The war straitened the whole country. tree →
• The old story tells of a widow in straitened circumstances who shared her last loaf. tree →
• The school's straitened budget meant fewer trips. tree →

Note

Do not confuse with «straighten» (to make straight): they sound the same but mean different things. «Strait» means narrow, as in «a strait» of sea or a «straitjacket». The word is rare and formal; use it mainly in «straitened circumstances».

In Jewish tradition

To "straiten" is to press hard upon, as an enemy does by besieging a city so that people starve. It also means to make narrow or limited, as when Job says the steps of the wicked are straitened and the waters are frozen narrow, or when Micah asks if God's spirit is limited.

Interpretation. The verse in Deuteronomy is part of Moses' warning of the curses that would follow if the people turned from God's laws. Tradition reads these warnings as a call to turn back to God and live well. Micah's question is read as saying that God is never too limited to help, and that the people's deeds cause their troubles.

Examples

• And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters whom the LORD thy God hath given thee; in the siege and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall straiten thee. (Torah DEU.28.53, JPS 1917) tree →
• Is the spirit of the LORD straitened? (Prophets MIC.2.7, JPS 1917) tree →
• The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down. (Writings JOB.18.7, JPS 1917) tree →
• By the breath of God ice is given, and the breadth of the waters is straitened. (Writings JOB.37.10, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Do not confuse with «straighten» (to make straight): they sound the same but mean different things. «Strait» means narrow, as in «a strait» of sea or a «straitjacket». The word is rare and formal; use it mainly in «straitened circumstances».