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Glite Dictionary
drinking straw

drinking straw

1 1.0
A thin tube often made of plastic or paper that you use to suck a drink into your mouth
  • noun
  • /ˈdrɪŋkɪŋ strɔ/
translation icon : popote
  • She drank her smoothie through a drinking straw for an easy sip.

Examples

  • Cara gave him a drinking straw and taught him to aim it.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Well, it's a straw, a drinking straw, and it was used for drinking beer in ancient Mesopotamia.

  • This may have been a central container from which several men drank the beer using drinking straws

    Academic text (2006)

  • For instance, the materials required for "Make Your Own Quadrant" include a drinking straw, string, a hexagonal nut or other small weight, and the quadrant template.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Treated sewage is pumped into a long microfilter shaped like a bundle of drinking straws with tiny holes that trap dirt and solids.

    Academic text (2008)

  • He used a drinking straw to enjoy his favorite soda without spilling.

  • At the party, everyone received a colorful drinking straw with their drinks.

Synonyms

straw
vsdrinking straw
132 1.0

A thin tube for sucking drinks into the mouth

is the everyday name for the same tube
bombilla
vsdrinking straw
1 9.9

A metal straw with a small filter used to drink mate

is a plain paper or plastic tube without a filter for general liquids

How Reusable

drinking straw
1 1.0
paper cup
12 1.0

Surface Forms

drinking straw singular
drinking straws plural

Morphology

drinking + straw

The meaning ('a thin tube used to suck liquids') is directly and compositionally derived from 'drinking' (the act of swallowing liquids) + 'straw' (a thin paper or plastic tube for drinking); the modifier specifies the straw's function but does not change the head's referent. This noun-noun compound follows common, cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Drinking straw may come from a simple image: people long ago used a piece of dry straw, the hollow stem of grain plants, to put into a cup and 'suck' a drink. That's why drinking straw now means a thin tube used to 'drink' liquids.