strop

as in to sharpen
to make sharp or sharper at the museum they showed us how men used to strop razors with leather bands before the days of disposable blades

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of strop To strop, draw your knife backward from heel to tip. Craig Caudill, Field & Stream, 13 July 2023 The Department of Transportation said the policy was in response to Beijing's refusal to allow a resumption of flights to China by U.S. carriers that stropped flying to China due to U.S. coronavirus restrictions. Harold Maass, TheWeek, 4 June 2020 Sometimes a leafy twig is selected, and before this can be used the chimpanzee has to strop off the leaves. National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2019 There’s little thunder, no off-piste mental excursions, no sense of a writer stropping his razor. New York Times, 9 July 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strop
Verb
  • These practices slow you down, sharpen your observation, and deepen your connection to the local environment.
    Alesandra Dubin, Southern Living, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Partnerships in behavioral health will deepen, and new technology will continue to sharpen efficiency and transparency.
    Jason Phillips, USA Today, 21 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Worcestershire, dry mustard, and ground red pepper combine with your go-to cheese, for a foolproof party snack.
    Mary Alice Russell, Southern Living, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Teflon’s nonstick, nonreactive characteristics hinge on its immensely strong carbon-fluorine bonds, but the ball mill can break these bonds apart by grinding them with the sodium metal.
    Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 22 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Strop.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strop. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.

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