Definition

1. Noun:

   • A long, narrow piece of something: A thin, flat piece of material, land, or other substance that is longer than it is wide.
   • A sequence of drawings in a comic: A series of cartoon drawings that tell a story, often published in a newspaper.
   • A runway for aircraft: A long, narrow area of land, often paved, used for the takeoff and landing of aircraft.
   • A form of entertainment: A performance, typically in a club, where a person gradually removes their clothes to music.

2. Verb:

   • To remove clothing or a covering: To take off clothes, paint, bark, or any outer layer from something or someone.
   • To deprive or take away: To remove property, rights, titles, or components from someone or something, often forcefully.
   • To empty or clean out: To remove all contents or possessions from a place.
   • To damage screw threads: To wear down or break the spiral ridge on a screw or bolt, making it unusable.
   • To milk completely: To draw the last milk from a cow.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • He cut a thin strip of paper for the craft project.
  • My favorite part of the newspaper is the comic strip.
  • The small plane landed on the grassy strip.
  • The club is famous for its nightly strip show.

• Verb:

  • Please strip the old paint from the door before repainting it.
  • The court ruling could strip him of his citizenship.
  • Thieves stripped the car of its valuable parts.
  • Be careful not to strip the screw when tightening it.
  • The farmer strips the cows every morning.

Advanced Usage

• "to strip down": to remove most or all of one's clothes; to disassemble something into its basic parts.

  • He stripped down to his shorts before jumping into the lake.
  • The mechanic stripped down the engine to find the problem.

• "to strip away": to remove layers, especially to reveal something more fundamental.

  • The documentary strips away the glamour to show the harsh reality of the industry.

• "to strip someone bare": to completely expose someone's secrets, weaknesses, or emotions.

  • The intense interrogation stripped him bare emotionally.

Variants and Related Words

• Stripper (n): A person who performs a striptease; a tool or chemical for removing paint or varnish.
• Stripping (n): The action of removing something, such as paint or clothing.
• Stripe (n): A long, narrow band or strip differing in color or texture from the surface on either side. (Note: This is a different word with a different meaning).
• Landing strip (n): A runway for aircraft.

Synonyms

• Noun (piece): sliver, ribbon, band, shred.
• Verb (remove): undress, peel, bare, denude.
• Verb (deprive): divest, dispossess, rob.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Strip off: To quickly remove clothing.

  • He stripped off his wet clothes as soon as he got inside.

• Strip out: To remove internal components or features from something.

  • They stripped out the old wiring from the building.

Related Idioms

• Tear someone off a strip / Give someone a strip: (British English, informal) To reprimand or criticize someone angrily.

  • His boss tore him off a strip for being late again.

• Strip mall: (North American English) A shopping center consisting of a row of stores with a common parking area in front.

  • We bought groceries at the strip mall.

Noun

1. a form of erotic entertainment in which a dancer gradually undresses to music
   • she did a strip right in front of everyone
2. thin piece of wood or metal
3. a sequence of drawings telling a story in a newspaper or comic book
4. an airfield without normal airport facilities
5. artifact consisting of a narrow flat piece of material
6. a relatively long narrow piece of something
   • he felt a flat strip of muscle

Verb

1. remove (someone's or one's own) clothes
   • The nurse quickly undressed the accident victim
   • She divested herself of her outdoor clothes
   • He disinvested himself of his garments
2. draw the last milk (of cows)
3. take off or remove
   • strip a wall of its wallpaper
4. remove a constituent from a liquid
5. remove the thread (of screws)
6. strip the cured leaves from
   • strip tobacco
7. remove all contents or possession from, or empty completely
   • The boys cleaned the sandwich platters
   • The trees were cleaned of apples by the storm
8. steal goods; take as spoils
   • During the earthquake people looted the stores that were deserted by their owners
9. lay bare
   • denude a forest
10. remove substances from by a percolating liquid
    • leach the soil
11. remove the surface from
    • strip wood
12. get undressed
    • please don't undress in front of everybody!
    • She strips in front of strangers every night for a living
13. take away possessions from someone
    • The Nazis stripped the Jews of all their assets