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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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
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
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Your focus sharpens and tasks move faster as Mercury joins Mars in Aries in your 6th house.—
Tarot.com,
The Orlando Sentinel,
20 Apr. 2026
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As the Beatles began to splinter, Spitz writes, the Stones sharpened their focus.—
Marc Ballon,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Bodies in motion are intercut with a bespoke gun factory’s grinding gears; human combats are juxtaposed with VR imagery or first-person shooter games.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
21 Apr. 2026
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That willingness to grind, Jassy argued, is what separates the people who move up from those who stall out.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Strop.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strop. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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