Strait

1. Narrow; not broad.
2. To put to difficulties.
3. A neck of land; an isthmus.
4. Tight; close; closely fitting.
5. Close; intimate; near; familiar.
6. Parsimonious; niggargly; mean.
7. A (comparatively) narrow passageway connecting two large bodies of water; -- often in the plural; as, the strait, or straits, of Gibraltar; the straits of Magellan; the strait, or straits, of Mackinaw.
8. A narrow pass or passage.
9. Strictly; rigorously.
10. Difficult; distressful; straited.
11. A variant of Straight.
12. Strict; scrupulous; rigorous.
13. Fig.: A condition of narrowness or restriction; doubt; distress; difficulty; poverty; perplexity; -- sometimes in the plural; as, reduced to great straits.