strip

strip

strip¹ [strip]

vt.

stripped, stripping [ME strepen < OE stripan, akin to streifen, to strip off < IE * streub- < base * ster-, to streak, stroke > STRIKE]

1. to remove (the clothing or covering) of or from (a person); make naked; undress

2. to deprive or dispossess (a person or thing) of (honors, titles, attributes, etc.)

3. to despoil of wealth, property, etc.; plunder; rob

4. to pull, tear, or take off (a covering, skin, etc.) from (a person or thing)

5. to make bare or clear by removing fruit, growth, removable parts, etc. [to strip a room of furniture]

6. to take apart (a firearm, etc.) piece by piece, as for cleaning; dismantle

7. to break or damage the thread of (a nut, bolt, or screw) or the teeth of (a gear)

8. to remove the last milk from (a cow) with a stroking movement of the thumb and forefinger

9. to remove the large central rib from (tobacco leaves) or the leaf from (the stalk)

vi.

1. to take off all clothing; undress

☆ 2. to perform a striptease

n.

☆ short for STRIPTEASE

SYN.- STRIP¹ implies the pulling or tearing off of clothing, outer covering, etc. and often connotes forcible or even violent action and total deprivation [to strip paper off a wall, stripped of sham ]; DENUDE implies that the thing stripped is left exposed or naked [land denuded of vegetation ]; DIVEST implies the taking away of something with which one has been clothed or invested [an official divested of authority ]; BARE¹ simply implies an uncovering or laying open to view [to bare one's head in reverence ]; DISMANTLE implies the act of stripping a house, ship, etc. of all of its furniture or equipment [a dismantled factory ]

strip² [strip]

n.

[altered (infl. by STRIP¹) < STRIPE]

1. a long, narrow piece, as of land, ribbon, wood, etc.

☆ 2. short for COMIC STRIP

3. short for AIRSTRIP

4. Philately a vertical or horizontal row of three or more attached stamps

vt.

to cut or tear into strips