strip

1 of 2

verb

ˈstrip 

stripped ˈstript  also stript; stripping; strips

transitive verb

1

a

: to remove clothing, covering, or surface matter from

He stripped to the waist.

I stripped the bed and washed the sheets.

stripped bark from a tree

b

: to deprive of possessions

c

: to divest of honors, privileges, or functions

stripped the generals of their stars

2

a

: to remove extraneous or superficial matter from

a prose style stripped to the bones

b(1)

: to remove furniture, equipment, or accessories from

strip a ship for action

(2)

: to separate (a machine or piece of equipment) into parts for cleaning or repair

3

: to make bare or clear (as by cutting or grazing)

4

: to finish a milking of by pressing the last available milk from the teats

strip a cow

5

a

: to remove cured leaves from the stalks of (tobacco)

b

: to remove the midrib from (tobacco leaves)

6

: to tear or damage the thread of (a separable part or fitting)

7

: to separate (components) from a mixture or solution

8

: to press eggs or milt out of (a fish)

9

: to remove (a subcutaneous vein) by means of a surgical instrument

intransitive verb

1

a

: to take off clothes

… anxious to find the young man who stripped down to his boxer shorts and jumped in the river to save her dog.

—Mike Byrne

b

: to remove one's clothes in a seductive or provocative manner while someone is watching

2

: peel sense 1

strippable

ˈstri-pə-bəl 

adjective

strip

2 of 2

noun

1

a

: a long narrow piece of a material

b

: a long narrow area of land or water

2

: airstrip

3

: a commercially developed area especially along a highway

4

: comic strip

5

: striptease

Synonyms of strip

Verb

• undress
• disrobe

Noun

• ribbon

Examples of strip in a Sentence

Verb

He stripped himself down to his underwear.

The prisoners were stripped naked.

She gets paid to dance and strip at the club.

They stripped the table and refinished it.

They stripped the room when they left.

The building had been completely stripped of its original woodwork.

Noun

a small strip of cloth

the half-mile strip of road

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

In this poetry collection, Vilariño strips poetry to its essence—distilling love, loss, and the inexorable passage of time into spare yet searing verses. —Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025

The show of unity from the royal family comes just over a week after King Charles formally stripped his brother, the former Prince Andrew, of all his royal titles and instructed him to vacate his Windsor home, Royal Lodge. —Erin Hill, PEOPLE, 9 Nov. 2025

Noun

About 30 or so customers occupied the wooden stools of the old-school, salty hangout in an industrial strip a few miles from downtown Louisville. —Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 8 Nov. 2025

The Mariners intercepted three more passes, and Landon Manley recovered two fumbles, the second on his strip sack at the Pacifica 19. —Steve Dulas, Oc Register, 8 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English strepen, strippen, from Old English -strīepan; akin to Old High German stroufen to strip

Noun

probably alteration of stripe entry 3

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing strip

• away strip
• comic strip
• do a strip
• drag strip
• landing strip
• Möbius strip
• median strip
• power strip
• rumble strip
• strip away
• strip cartoon
• strip-chart recorder
• strip club
• strip cropping
• strip joint
• strip lighting
• strip mall
• strip mine
• strip naked
• strip poker
• strip search
• strip the/one's bed
• strip to the waist
• tear (someone) off a strip
• weather strip

Rhymes for strip

• blip
• chip
• clip
• dip
• drip
• flip
• grip
• grippe
• hip
• ip
• kip
• lip

Kids Definition

strip

1 of 2 verb

ˈstrip 

stripped ˈstript  also stript; stripping

1

a

: to remove clothing, covering, or surface substance from

b

: undress

stripped and showered

c

: plunder entry 1, spoil

troops stripped the town after capturing it

d

: to take away all duties, honors, or special rights

2

a

: to remove a layer that covers : skin, peel

strip bark from a tree

b

: to remove unimportant material from

c

: to remove furniture, equipment, or accessories from

3

: to make bare or clear (as by cutting or grazing)

4

: to tear or damage the screw thread of (as a bolt or nut)

stripper noun

strip

2 of 2 noun

1

: a long narrow piece or area

strips of bacon

a strip of land

2

: airstrip

Medical Definition

strip

transitive verb

ˈstrip 

stripped ˈstript  ; stripping

: to remove (a vein) by means of a stripper

stripping a varicose saphenous vein

Legal Definition

strip

1 of 3 transitive verb

stripped; stripping

: to divide (a debt security) into separately traded securities entitling the owner usually to either principal or interest alone from the obligation

strip

2 of 3 noun

: a security traded separately from another after stripping

specifically : a derivative mortgage-backed security created by the segregation of cash flow from the underlying mortgages or other mortgage-backed securities and entitling the investor to a specified percentage (as 100 percent) of the interest or principal paid

STRIP

3 of 3 noun

plural STRIPs

: a Treasury security that entitles the investor usually to payment of interest or principal exclusively and that is registered in a Federal Reserve bank under a federal program that provides for such separate trading of the components of U.S. Treasury obligations compare zero-coupon bond at bond sense 2

Etymology

Noun

separate trading of registered interest and principal of securities