strait >> streɪt
Definition: [noun] a narrow passage of water connecting two seas or two other large areas of water.
Example: the Straits of Gibraltar
Definition: [noun] used in reference to a situation characterized by a specified degree of trouble or difficulty.
Example: the economy is in dire straits
Definition: [adjective] (of a place) of limited spatial capacity; narrow or cramped.
Example: the road was so strait that a handful of men might have defended it