distrain

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
9
Words With Friends
10
Letters
8
Pronunciation
/dɪˈstɹeɪn/
See all 2 pronunciations
/dɪˈstɹeɪn/ · /di-ˈstrān/

Definition of distrain

4 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

verb

  1. (obsolete)To squeeze, press, embrace; to constrain, oppress.
    “But when he heard her answeres loth, he knew / Some secret sorrow did her heart distraine […]”
    “Thus spake the Prince, and gently 'gan distrain / Now him, now her, between his friendly arms.”
See all 4 definitions

verb

  1. (obsolete)To squeeze, press, embrace; to constrain, oppress.
    “But when he heard her answeres loth, he knew / Some secret sorrow did her heart distraine […]”
    “Thus spake the Prince, and gently 'gan distrain / Now him, now her, between his friendly arms.”
  2. (obsolete, transitive)To force (someone) to do something by seizing their property.
    “to distrain a person by his goods and chattels”
  3. (intransitive)To seize somebody's property in place of, or to force, payment of a debt.
  4. (obsolete)To pull off, tear apart.
    “For that same net so cunningly was wound, / That neither guile, nor force might it distraine.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

From Middle English distreynen, from Old French destraindre, from Latin distringō (“to pull asunder”), from dis- (“apart”) + stringō (“to draw tight, strain”).

Words you can make from distrain

184 playable · top: DIARIST (8 pts)

Best play diarist 8 points

7-letter words

2 words

6-letter words

14 words

5-letter words

47 words

4-letter words

63 words

3-letter words

42 words

2-letter words

15 words

Hooks

2 extensions · 2 back

A single letter you can add to distrain to make another valid word.

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