in the strict/strictest sense (of the word)
idiom
—used to refer to using the correct or precise meaning of a word
He's not a volunteer in the strict/strictest sense (of the word) because he receives a small stipend.
Examples of in the strict/strictest sense (of the word) in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Although not a summer noir in the strict sense, this silent film classic by German director F. W. Murnau is the urtext for all subsequent cautionary tales about summer temptation.
—
Erik Morse, Vogue, 26 June 2025
And for the most part, the assists credited to goalkeepers aren’t deliberate, in the strictest sense of the word — or at least in the same way a winger squaring a low cross for a striker to score into an open goal is.
—Nick Miller, The Athletic, 6 Feb. 2025
The regulatory scheme at issue may not be a prior restraint in the strict sense.
—Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 24 Jan. 2025
Even shows that were not documentary productions in the strict sense gestured toward the conventions of that kind of work.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 25 July 2024
Not in the strictest sense, but his dentures will be on the block on February 6 at the Cotswold Auction Company in scenic Cheltenham, a spa town in the U.K. Designed by his dentist, Wilfred Fish, and made around 1939, they were constructed to protect Churchill’s natural — and distinctive — lisp.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 27 Jan. 2024
Godzilla is thus an apocalyptic figure, in the strictest sense of the word: a thing of unmasking, of revelation.
—Asher Elbein, Scientific American, 3 Nov. 2023
Right now, American therapists are primarily accountable to their state licensing board, but these organizations tend to respond only to ethical violations in the strictest sense.
—WIRED, 28 Sep. 2022
These animals probably weren’t pets in the strict sense, but may have been working partners and companions to humans.
—Livia Gershon, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Mar. 2021
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Erik Morse, Vogue, 26 June 2025
And for the most part, the assists credited to goalkeepers aren’t deliberate, in the strictest sense of the word — or at least in the same way a winger squaring a low cross for a striker to score into an open goal is.
—Nick Miller, The Athletic, 6 Feb. 2025
The regulatory scheme at issue may not be a prior restraint in the strict sense.
—Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 24 Jan. 2025
Even shows that were not documentary productions in the strict sense gestured toward the conventions of that kind of work.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 25 July 2024
Not in the strictest sense, but his dentures will be on the block on February 6 at the Cotswold Auction Company in scenic Cheltenham, a spa town in the U.K. Designed by his dentist, Wilfred Fish, and made around 1939, they were constructed to protect Churchill’s natural — and distinctive — lisp.
—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 27 Jan. 2024
Godzilla is thus an apocalyptic figure, in the strictest sense of the word: a thing of unmasking, of revelation.
—Asher Elbein, Scientific American, 3 Nov. 2023
Right now, American therapists are primarily accountable to their state licensing board, but these organizations tend to respond only to ethical violations in the strictest sense.
—WIRED, 28 Sep. 2022
These animals probably weren’t pets in the strict sense, but may have been working partners and companions to humans.
—Livia Gershon, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Mar. 2021
Cite this Entry
“In the strict/strictest sense (of the word).” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/in%20the%20strict%2Fstrictest%20sense%20%28of%20the%20word%29. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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