straps
/stɹæps/
straps is pronounced straps (/stɹæps/). Straps is the plural noun or verb form relating to a strip of material used to fasten, secure, or carry. As a noun, it refers to multiple flexible bands; as a verb, it means to fasten with straps. The word carries a sharp, clipped /æ/ plus an /s/ plural ending, often spoken quickly in connected speech. Proper pronunciation hinges on a clear /æ/ vowel and a final /ps/ sequence when used as a verb.
Straps is the plural noun or verb form relating to a strip of material used to fasten, secure, or carry. As a noun, it refers to multiple flexible bands; as a verb, it means to fasten with straps. The word carries a sharp, clipped /æ/ plus an /s/ plural ending, often spoken quickly in connected speech. Proper pronunciation hinges on a clear /æ/ vowel and a final /ps/ sequence when used as a verb.
"She adjusted the straps on her backpack before hiking."
"The helmet straps were too loose and needed tightening."
"They strapped the bundle securely to the roof of the car."
Say STRAPS with a stressed initial syllable: /stræps/. Begin with the /s/ hiss, move into the short /t/ tap, then open the open-front /æ/ as in cat, and finish quickly with /ps/ where the /p/ is unreleased before the sibilant /s/. Keep the word tight and clipped, so it doesn’t drift into /stræpsɪz/ or /stræpsə/. Practice in isolation, then in phrases like “strapS on,” paying attention to the sudden /s/ at the end.
Common errors include pronouncing the final cluster as /ps/ too separately (releasing /p/ with a long vowel) and misplacing the /æ/ toward /ɛ/. Another error is adding an extra vowel after /p/ as in /stræp-əz/; keep it monosyllabic and finish with /s/. To correct: practice the tight /ps/ cluster by saying /p/ into /s/ quickly, almost as one sound, and use a quick, short /æ/ before the cluster. Focus on singling out /æ/ clearly while closing with a brisk /ps/ sequence.
In US, UK, and AU, STRAPS shares /stræps/ with the main difference being vowel quality in surrounding contexts. The rhotic US accent usually preserves /æ/ clearly, while UK and AU may have a slightly closer /æ/ and a quick, clipped /s/ after /p/. Australian English may show a subtle fronting of /æ/ to near /eə/ in some speakers and a quick, almost glottalized /t/ perception in fast speech; however, final /ps/ remains a crisp, unreleased cluster across all three. The main variation lies in how sharply you enunciate /r/ influence not here, since /r/ is non-rhotic in UK/AU, while US may be rhotic, but it doesn’t affect /str/ or the /æ/ here.
The difficulty lies in the tight /str/ onset followed by a brief /æ/ and a consonant cluster /ps/ that’s unreleased in many dialects. This requires precise tongue placement: start with a high-front tongue position for /s/, quickly dip for /t/, then reach the low-front /æ/ before snapping into the bilabial /p/ and the sibilant /s/. The rapid transition and the unreleased /p/ in the cluster can blur in rapid speech, causing fluent speakers to merge sounds if not practiced.
The unique feature is the final /ps/ cluster in a stressed monosyllable. Unlike words ending with /s/ or /p/ followed by an extra vowel, straps ends with a tightly coupled /p/ then /s/, so the transition must be crisp and quick, not a doubled or prolonged vowel, to avoid sounding like /stræpsəs/. Ensuring the /p/ is released into /s/ with minimal vowel length keeps the word bright and precise.
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Straps comes from the Old English strap or stræpp, related to the Proto-Germanic strappô, meaning a strip or thong. The word evolved from Germanic languages into Middle English as strap or strappe, denoting a narrow leather or fabric strip used to secure clothing or equipment. In early texts, straps were chiefly leather bands used on armor or gear. The plural form straps appears to align with English inflection patterns for count nouns. The sense broadened through centuries: from a single strip to multiple strips (as on harnesses or packages) and to the verb sense of fastening with strips by lashing or tying. The modern sense consolidates leather, fabric, or synthetic bands used for carrying, securing, or supporting objects, and retains the core idea of a flexible, reinforcing strip. First known written uses appear in medieval inventories and armor descriptions, with attestations in the 13th–14th centuries. Over time, the material composition expanded from leather to vary across fabrics and plastics, mirroring changes in equipment, fashion, and packaging. The semantic trajectory thus moves from a specific fastening strip to a general term for multiple fastening bands and the act of securing with those bands.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "straps" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "straps" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "straps"
-aps sounds
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