straightjacket

[ streyt-jak-it ]
/ ˈstreɪtˌdʒæk ɪt /

noun, verb (used with object)

Definition for straightjacket (2 of 2)

straitjacket

or straight·jack·et

[ streyt-jak-it ]
/ ˈstreɪtˌdʒæk ɪt /

noun

a garment made of strong material and designed to bind the arms, as of a violently disoriented person.
anything that severely confines, constricts, or hinders: Conventional attitudes can be a straitjacket, preventing original thinking.

verb (used with object) Also strait-jack·et.

to put in or as in a straitjacket: Her ambition was straitjacketed by her family.

Origin of straitjacket

First recorded in 1805–15; strait + jacket

Example sentences from the Web for straightjacket

British Dictionary definitions for straightjacket (1 of 2)

straightjacket
/ (ˈstreɪtˌdʒækɪt) /

noun

a less common spelling of straitjacket

British Dictionary definitions for straightjacket (2 of 2)

straitjacket
/ (ˈstreɪtˌdʒækɪt) /

noun

Also called: straightjacket a jacket made of strong canvas material with long sleeves for binding the arms of violent prisoners or mentally ill patients
a severe restriction or limitation

verb

(tr) to confine in or as if in a straitjacket

Medical definitions for straightjacket

straitjacket

n.

A long-sleeved jacketlike garment used to bind the arms tightly against the body as a means of restraining a violent person.