strip

1 of 2

verb

ˈstrip 

stripped ˈstript  also stript; stripping; strips

transitive verb

1

a

: to remove clothing, covering, or surface matter from

b

: to deprive of possessions

c

: to divest of honors, privileges, or functions

2

a

: to remove extraneous or superficial matter from

a prose style stripped to the bones

b

: to remove furniture, equipment, or accessories from

strip a ship for action

3

: to make bare or clear (as by cutting or grazing)

4

: to finish a milking of by pressing the last available milk from the teats

strip a cow

5

a

: to remove cured leaves from the stalks of (tobacco)

b

: to remove the midrib from (tobacco leaves)

6

: to tear or damage the thread of (a separable part or fitting)

7

: to separate (components) from a mixture or solution

8

: to press eggs or milt out of (a fish)

9

: to remove (a subcutaneous vein) by means of a surgical instrument

intransitive verb

1

a

: to take off clothes

… anxious to find the young man who stripped down to his boxer shorts and jumped in the river to save her dog.

—Mike Byrne

b

: to remove one's clothes gradually piece by piece in a seductive or provocative manner especially to the accompaniment of music : to perform a striptease

2

: peel sense 1

strippable

ˈstri-pə-bəl 

adjective

strip

2 of 2

noun

1

a

: a long narrow piece of a material

b

: a long narrow area of land or water

2

: airstrip

3

: a commercially developed area especially along a highway

4

: comic strip

5

: striptease

Synonyms

Verb

• disrobe
• unclothe
• undress

Noun

• list
• ribbon
• slip

Examples of strip in a Sentence

Verb

He stripped himself down to his underwear.

The prisoners were stripped naked.

She gets paid to dance and strip at the club.

They stripped the table and refinished it.

They stripped the room when they left.

The building had been completely stripped of its original woodwork.

Noun

a small strip of cloth

the half-mile strip of road

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The trees turned to bronze and copper, then stripped themselves skeletal; the cold somehow entered Eliza. Enough! —Lauren Groff, The New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2024

Bitter cold, harsh winds and indoor heating can strip delicate skin of its moisture, leaving lips parched and prone to cracking. —Maryal Miller Carter, USA TODAY, 7 Dec. 2024

Noun

Most women and girls in Undi instead use fabric strips cut from traditional wrap skirts. —Kang-Chun Cheng, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Dec. 2024

These light strips also appear in our best smart lighting guide. —Boutayna Chokrane, WIRED, 3 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English strepen, strippen, from Old English -strīepan; akin to Old High German stroufen to strip

Noun

probably alteration of stripe entry 3

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing strip

• away strip
• comic strip
• do a strip
• drag strip
• landing strip
• Möbius strip
• median strip
• power strip
• rumble strip
• strip away
• strip cartoon
• strip-chart recorder
• strip club
• strip cropping
• strip joint
• strip lighting
• strip mall
• strip mine
• strip naked
• strip poker
• strip search
• strip the/one's bed
• strip to the waist
• tear (someone) off a strip
• weather strip

Kids Definition

strip

1 of 2 verb

ˈstrip 

stripped ˈstript  also stript; stripping

1

a

: to remove clothing, covering, or surface substance from

b

: undress

stripped and showered

c

: plunder entry 1, spoil

troops stripped the town after capturing it

d

: to take away all duties, honors, or special rights

2

a

: to remove a layer that covers : skin, peel

strip bark from a tree

b

: to remove unimportant material from

c

: to remove furniture, equipment, or accessories from

3

: to make bare or clear (as by cutting or grazing)

4

: to tear or damage the screw thread of (as a bolt or nut)

stripper noun

strip

2 of 2 noun

1

: a long narrow piece or area

strips of bacon

a strip of land

2

: airstrip

Medical Definition

strip

transitive verb

ˈstrip 

stripped ˈstript  ; stripping

: to remove (a vein) by means of a stripper

stripping a varicose saphenous vein

Legal Definition

strip

1 of 3 transitive verb

stripped; stripping

: to divide (a debt security) into separately traded securities entitling the owner usually to either principal or interest alone from the obligation

strip

2 of 3 noun

: a security traded separately from another after stripping

specifically : a derivative mortgage-backed security created by the segregation of cash flow from the underlying mortgages or other mortgage-backed securities and entitling the investor to a specified percentage (as 100 percent) of the interest or principal paid

STRIP

3 of 3 noun

plural STRIPs

: a Treasury security that entitles the investor usually to payment of interest or principal exclusively and that is registered in a Federal Reserve bank under a federal program that provides for such separate trading of the components of U.S. Treasury obligations compare zero-coupon bond at bond sense 2

Etymology

Noun

separate trading of registered interest and principal of securities