String

How to spell string

6 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce string

What does string mean?

1. nounA thin length of twisted fibre or cord used to tie, fasten, or bundle things.
2. nounA sequence of similar things or events following one after another.
3. verbTo thread items onto a cord, or to set up a line between two points.

String in a sentence

• noun

  She tied the parcel with a length of brown string.

• noun

  The team enjoyed a string of wins through the autumn season.

• verb

  They planned to string the lights along the fence before the party.

• noun

  The kite drifted higher as he let out more string.

• noun

  A string of complaints prompted the manager to review the policy.

• verb

  She likes to string the beads in a careful pattern.

Where does string come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English word that goes back to the Old English noun streng, meaning a line, cord, or rope, and ultimately to a Germanic root linked to the idea of something drawn tight or stretched. The same family gave English the word 'strong', because a taut, twisted cord is by nature firm and strong, and that shared sense of tension runs through both words. Over the centuries the meaning widened from a simple length of twisted fibre to the tightly stretched cords of a musical instrument, and from there to any series of things arranged in a line, such as a string of beads or a string of victories. The verb sense, meaning to thread items onto a cord, grew naturally out of the noun. The spelling has stayed remarkably stable, keeping the str- cluster and the -ing ending that make it easy to write but also easy to confuse with the present participle ending of other verbs.

How the word is built

• string (single root from Old English streng: a cord, line, or rope)