stranded
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
unable to leave a place because you have no transport or money.
left in a helpless or difficult position without the means to depart.
Simple“The heavy snowstorm left hundreds of travelers stranded at the airport overnight.”
In context“When the last ferry was cancelled due to the gale, several commuters found themselves stranded on the island with no available hotel rooms.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
when a boat or sea animal is stuck on the shore or a reef.
driven or left aground on a shore, reef, or shallow area.
Simple“The rescue team worked quickly to help the stranded whale back into the deep water.”
In context“The cargo ship remained stranded on the sandbar for three days until a high enough tide allowed tugboats to pull it free.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
a word that is left alone at the end of a sentence because its partner word moved.
describing a constituent, such as a preposition, that remains in its original position after its complement has moved.
Simple“In the sentence 'Who did you go with?', the word 'with' is stranded.”
In context“Prescriptive grammarians often argue against stranded prepositions, despite their ubiquity in natural English speech and informal writing.”
UsageCommonly refers to 'preposition stranding' in English syntax.
- 04 C1 Advanced
made by twisting many thin wires or threads together.
composed of multiple individual filaments or wires twisted or braided into a single unit.
Simple“Stranded copper wire is more flexible than a single solid core.”
In context“The engineer specified stranded cable for the robotic arm to ensure it could withstand repeated bending without snapping.”
“A French tourist has died in California's Death Valley after becoming stranded on the side of the road during 46.6C (116F) heat.”
“At least eight people have died as record rainfall pummelled eastern Japan and left thousands stranded at Tokyo's Narita Airport.”
From strand + -ed
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.