string

/strɪŋ/

/strɪŋ/

Other forms: strings; strung; stringing; stringed

A string is a strand of fiber that's thinner than a cord or a rope. You can tie on a Halloween mask with a string, or weave a friendship bracelet with a bunch of colorful strings.

Strings are useful for tying up packages and cinching the waist of your sweatpants. You can also have a figurative string, a series or sequence: "Our team had a string of wins." As a verb, string means "attach together" or "thread onto a string." It can also mean "put strings on an instrument" — you might string your new ukulele, for example. And when you "string someone along," you mislead them on purpose over and over again.

Definitions of string

1. noun

   a lightweight cord
   synonyms: twine

   types:

   chalk line, snap line, snapline

   a chalked string used in the building trades to make a straight line on a vertical surface

   packthread

   a strong three-ply twine used to sew or tie packages

   type of:

   cord

   a line made of twisted fibers or threads
2. noun

   a tie consisting of a cord that goes through a seam around an opening
   synonyms: drawing string, drawstring

   types:

   purse string

   a drawstring used to close the mouth of a purse

   type of:

   tie

   a cord (or string or ribbon or wire etc.) with which something is tied
3. noun

   a collection of objects threaded on a single strand
   types:

   beads, string of beads

   several beads threaded together on a string

   prayer beads, rosary

   a string of beads used in counting prayers (especially by Catholics)

   peag, wampum, wampumpeag

   small cylindrical beads made from polished shells and fashioned into strings or belts; used by certain Native American peoples as jewelry or currency

   type of:

   accumulation, aggregation, assemblage, collection

   several things grouped together or considered as a whole
4. noun

   a necklace made by a stringing objects together
   “a string of beads”

   synonyms: chain, strand

   type of:

   necklace

   jewelry consisting of a cord or chain (often bearing gems) worn about the neck as an ornament (especially by women)
5. verb

   string together; tie or fasten with a string
   “string the package”

   type of:

   fasten, fix, secure

   cause to be firmly attached
6. verb

   thread on or as if on a string
   “string pearls on a string”

   synonyms: draw, thread

   draw, guide, pass, run

   pass over, across, or through

   types:

   bead

   string together like beads

   wire

   string on a wire

   type of:

   arrange, set up

   put into a proper or systematic order
7. noun

   a tightly stretched cord of wire or gut, which makes sound when plucked, struck, or bowed
   types:

   snare

   strings stretched across the lower head of a snare drum; they make a rattling sound when the drum is hit

   type of:

   cord

   a line made of twisted fibers or threads
8. noun

   stringed instruments that are played with a bow
   “the strings played superlatively well”

   synonyms: bowed stringed instrument

   types:

   bass fiddle, bass viol, bull fiddle, contrabass, double bass, string bass

   largest and lowest member of the violin family

   cello, violoncello

   a large stringed instrument; seated player holds it upright while playing

   viol

   any of a family of bowed stringed instruments that preceded the violin family

   viola

   a bowed stringed instrument slightly larger than a violin, tuned a fifth lower

   fiddle, violin

   bowed stringed instrument that is the highest member of the violin family; this instrument has four strings and a hollow body and an unfretted fingerboard and is played with a bow

   Amati

   a violin made by Nicolo Amati or a member of his family

   Guarnerius

   a violin made by a member of the Guarneri family

   Strad, Stradavarius

   a violin made by Antonio Stradivari or a member of his family

   viola da braccio

   a member of the viol family with approximately the range of a viola

   bass viol, gamba, viola da gamba

   viol that is the bass member of the viol family with approximately the range of the cello

   viola d'amore

   viol that is the tenor of the viol family

   type of:

   stringed instrument

   a musical instrument in which taut strings provide the source of sound
9. verb

   provide with strings
   “string my guitar”

   antonyms:

   unstring

   remove the strings from

   type of:

   alter, change, modify

   cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
10. noun

    a sequentially ordered set of things or events or ideas in which each successive member is related to the preceding
    “a string of islands”

    synonyms: train

    type of:

    series

    similar things placed in order or happening one after another
11. noun

    a linear sequence of symbols (characters or words or phrases)
    types:

    extension, file name extension, filename extension

    a string of characters beginning with a period and followed by one or more letters; the optional second part of a PC computer filename

    linguistic string, string of words, word string

    a linear sequence of words as spoken or written

    substring

    a string that is part of a longer string

    sentence

    a string of words satisfying the grammatical rules of a language

    syntagm, syntagma

    a syntactic string of words that forms a part of some larger syntactic unit

    type of:

    sequence

    serial arrangement in which things follow in logical order or a recurrent pattern
12. verb

    add as if on a string
    “string these ideas together”

    “string up these songs and you'll have a musical”

    synonyms: string up

    type of:

    add

    make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
13. verb

    stretch out or arrange like a string
    type of:

    arrange, set up

    put into a proper or systematic order
14. noun

    a tough piece of fiber in vegetables, meat, or other food (especially the tough fibers connecting the two halves of a bean pod)
    type of:

    fiber, fibre

    a slender and greatly elongated substance capable of being spun into yarn
15. verb

    remove the stringy parts of
    “string beans”

    type of:

    remove, take, take away, withdraw

    remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract
16. noun

    (cosmology) a hypothetical one-dimensional subatomic particle having a concentration of energy and the dynamic properties of a flexible loop
    synonyms: cosmic string

    type of:

    elementary particle, fundamental particle

    (physics) a particle that is less complex than an atom; regarded as constituents of all matter
17. verb

    move or come along
    synonyms: string along

    type of:

    advance, go on, march on, move on, pass on, progress

    move forward, also in the metaphorical sense