straitjacket
verb
variants
or less commonly straightjacket
straitjacketed also straightjacketed; straitjacketing also straightjacketing; straitjackets also straightjackets
: to confine in or as if in a straitjacket
was straitjacketed by debt
Examples of straitjacket in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Hip-hop from that period often incorporated sampling, a technique that was legally straitjacketed by 1991.
—
Jeremy Gordon, New York Times, 3 May 2020
Trump was not straitjacketed by the laws and customs governing foundations, or by the most basic ethical norms.
—Steve Chapman, chicagotribune.com, 13 Nov. 2019
Europe is a tough regulatory landscape for big technology companies, with fines raining down on Google, a hefty back-tax bill for Apple, and the threat of new laws to straitjacket how online platforms handle their customers.
—Washington Post, 20 Sep. 2019
But this tick somehow fell into a spider web, and the resident spider promptly straitjacketed its arachnid cousin in loops of silk, either to save it as a snack or to immobilize it as a precaution.
—National Geographic, 25 May 2018
See All Example Sentences for straitjacket
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Jeremy Gordon, New York Times, 3 May 2020
Trump was not straitjacketed by the laws and customs governing foundations, or by the most basic ethical norms.
—Steve Chapman, chicagotribune.com, 13 Nov. 2019
Europe is a tough regulatory landscape for big technology companies, with fines raining down on Google, a hefty back-tax bill for Apple, and the threat of new laws to straitjacket how online platforms handle their customers.
—Washington Post, 20 Sep. 2019
But this tick somehow fell into a spider web, and the resident spider promptly straitjacketed its arachnid cousin in loops of silk, either to save it as a snack or to immobilize it as a precaution.
—National Geographic, 25 May 2018
See All Example Sentences for straitjacket
Cite this Entry
“Straitjacket.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/straitjacket. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
straitjacket
noun
strait·jack·et
variants
also straightjacket
: a cover or garment of strong material (as canvas) used to bind the body and especially the arms closely in restraining a violent prisoner or patient
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
