strict
/stɹɪkt/adjective
strict is spelled S-T-R-I-C-T: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,838th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, strict means “Strained; drawn close; tight” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in strict?
| Letters | 6: S-T-R-I-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 17 times per million words; the 4,838th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is strict?
Strict appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,838th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce strict?
- /stɹɪkt/
Strict has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-strict.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of strict
- stricter comparative
- strictest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does strict mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Strained; drawn close; tight.
strict embrace
- 2
Tense; not relaxed.
strict fiber
- 3
Exact; accurate; precise; rigorously particular.
to keep strict watch
- 4
Governed or governing by exact rules; observing exact rules; severe; rigorous.
they are very strict in observing the Sabbath
- 5
Rigidly interpreted; exactly limited; confined; restricted.
to understand words in a strict sense
- 6
Upright, or straight and narrow; – said of the shape of the plants or their flower clusters.
- 7
Severe in discipline.
Our teacher was always very strict. If we didn't behave, we would get punished.
- 8
Irreflexive; if the described object is defined to be reflexive, that condition is overridden and replaced with irreflexive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate strict?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of strict: str.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Strict in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does strict come from?
Borrowed from Latin strictus, past participle of stringere (“to draw tight, bind, contract”). Doublet of strait and stretto. See stringent, strain. Related to strong.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).