noun
straw
straw
noun
1
Dried stalks left over from cereal crops like wheat, used for bedding, fodder, or thatch.
"They spread fresh straw across the stable floor."
"The old barn was stacked to the roof with straw."
2
A thin tube used for sucking up a drink.
"She popped a straw into her milkshake."
3
Something considered practically worthless, as in the phrase "not worth a straw."
"His promises weren't worth a straw."
How to Use Straw
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe dry stalks left after harvesting grain, or the drinking tube shaped like one.
Common mistake
Don't confuse straw (dried stalks) with hay (dried grass grown as feed) — straw is a harvest byproduct, hay is grown specifically to be cut and fed to animals.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
bale of straw
the last straw
drinking straw
straw hat
Word Forms
strawed past tense, straws plural, straws singular
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They spread fresh _____ across the stable floor.
Etymology
From Old English streaw, related to a root meaning "to strew" or scatter — straw is literally the stuff that gets strewn on the ground.