Strings

How to spell strings

7 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce strings

What does strings mean?

1. nounThin lengths of twisted cord, thread, or wire used to tie, hang, or fasten things.
2. nounThe bowed instruments of an orchestra, such as violins, violas, cellos, and double basses, considered as a group.
3. nounHidden conditions or obligations attached to an offer, gift, or agreement.
4. verbThreads objects onto a line, or stretches a cord into place (third-person singular).

Strings in a sentence

• noun

  She tied the parcel with two strings before taking it to the post office.

• noun

  The conductor asked the strings to play more softly during the slow passage.

• noun

  The grant came with no strings attached, so the charity could spend it freely.

• verb

  Every winter he strings the festive lights along the front of the house.

• noun

  She threaded the wooden beads onto coloured strings for the necklace.

• noun

  The film score relied on lush strings to build emotion in the final scene.

Where does strings come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word descends from the Old English streng, meaning a line, cord, or rope, which goes back to a Germanic root tied to the idea of something drawn taut or twisted tight; the same ancestral sense survives in the modern word 'strong', since both spring from the notion of being stretched and firm. From the literal meaning of a thin cord, English steadily widened the word to cover the gut or wire fibres that sound a note on a musical instrument, the line on which beads or objects are threaded, and a whole series of things lined up one after another. The plural 'strings' became the natural term for the violin family of an orchestra by the 1700s, grouping all the bowed instruments under one heading. The figurative phrase 'no strings attached' arose later, picturing hidden cords of obligation that pull on the recipient of a gift or deal. The spelling stays refreshingly faithful to its Old English root, with the 'str' cluster and the 'ng' ending almost unchanged across a thousand years.

How the word is built

• string (cord, line)
• -s (plural / third-person verb suffix)