1. 1. Stalks of threshed grain, used as bedding and food for animals, for thatching, and for weaving or braiding, as into baskets.
   2. A single stalk of threshed grain.
2. Something, such as a hat or basket, made of straw.
3. A slender tube used for sucking up a liquid.
4. 1. Something of minimal value or importance.
   2. Something with too little substance to provide support in a crisis: Near the end we were grasping at straws.

1. Of, relating to, or made of straw: a straw mat.
2. Containing or used for straw, as a barn or feeding trough.
3. Of the color of straw; yellowish.
4. Having little or no value or substance; unimportant.
5. Of, relating to, or constituting a straw man.

final (or last) straw

1. The final annoyance or setback, which even though minor makes one lose patience.

1. A slight hint of something to come.

[Middle English, from Old English strēaw.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.