1
as in wrecking
to cause irreparable damage to (a ship) by running aground or sinking
the ghostly remains of ships that had been stranded by the reef
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in leaving
to cause to remain behind
he just drove off, stranding her in some dinky town with just a few bucks and the clothes she was wearing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stranding
Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2025
The New Yorker, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
The scale of this year’s snowfall temporarily closed Hokkaido’s main airport last week, stranding hundreds of passengers, while snarling other travel, delaying train services and forcing the closure of some highways.
—Reuters, NBC news, 4 Feb. 2026
Their window of opportunity only lasted the weekend — if the scientists didn’t secure the instruments by Monday, an approaching front of bad weather would prevent helicopters from extracting them, effectively stranding them for an indeterminate period of time.
—Joe Wilkins Published Feb 4, Futurism, 4 Feb. 2026
After Bradley begrudgingly invites Linda to join him on a work trip, his private jet crashes in the Gulf of Thailand, stranding the pair on a remote beach, Linda’s devotion to Survivor suddenly gets put to good use.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 31 Jan. 2026
At its busiest last year, Deming said the center was rescuing seven to nine animals a day in addition to dolphins that were stranding on beaches.
—Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 20 Jan. 2026
The flight path ensures the safe return of the Artemis 2 crew and Orion, without the possibility of a malfunction stranding them in lunar orbit.
—Josh Dinner, Space.com, 17 Jan. 2026
At the end of his first year as CEO, a blizzard known as Winter Storm Elliott triggered an operational meltdown, stranding thousands of Southwest customers at the height of the holiday season, paralyzing the company’s point-to-point network, and plunging the company into a profit-killing crisis.
—Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 9 Jan. 2026
My sister drove with me once, the week a tractor-trailer carrying lithium-ion batteries exploded, shutting down the interstate and stranding thousands of travellers without food, water, or gas in 110-degree heat.
—Hazlitt, 7 Jan. 2026
Noun
The stranding took place at Bigbury Beach in South Devon, about 230 miles southwest of London, according to a statement from the Devon Wildlife Trust, a local conservation charity.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
The book’s bleak contemporary lesson is that stranding people in a quasi-legal black site is easier than releasing them.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
The scale of this year’s snowfall temporarily closed Hokkaido’s main airport last week, stranding hundreds of passengers, while snarling other travel, delaying train services and forcing the closure of some highways.
—Reuters, NBC news, 4 Feb. 2026
Their window of opportunity only lasted the weekend — if the scientists didn’t secure the instruments by Monday, an approaching front of bad weather would prevent helicopters from extracting them, effectively stranding them for an indeterminate period of time.
—Joe Wilkins Published Feb 4, Futurism, 4 Feb. 2026
After Bradley begrudgingly invites Linda to join him on a work trip, his private jet crashes in the Gulf of Thailand, stranding the pair on a remote beach, Linda’s devotion to Survivor suddenly gets put to good use.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 31 Jan. 2026
At its busiest last year, Deming said the center was rescuing seven to nine animals a day in addition to dolphins that were stranding on beaches.
—Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 20 Jan. 2026
The flight path ensures the safe return of the Artemis 2 crew and Orion, without the possibility of a malfunction stranding them in lunar orbit.
—Josh Dinner, Space.com, 17 Jan. 2026
At the end of his first year as CEO, a blizzard known as Winter Storm Elliott triggered an operational meltdown, stranding thousands of Southwest customers at the height of the holiday season, paralyzing the company’s point-to-point network, and plunging the company into a profit-killing crisis.
—Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 9 Jan. 2026
My sister drove with me once, the week a tractor-trailer carrying lithium-ion batteries exploded, shutting down the interstate and stranding thousands of travellers without food, water, or gas in 110-degree heat.
—Hazlitt, 7 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stranding
Verb
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The brand nails high-quality essentials that look luxe without wrecking your travel budget.—
Claire Gallam,
Travel + Leisure,
11 Feb. 2026
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The wrecking contractor did a superb job of clearing the area.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In a strange twist, the Max app was developed by VKontakte (VK), which Durov co-founded before selling his shares and leaving Russia in 2014, after Durov said the Kremlin had asked the site to hand over Ukrainian users’ data.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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Those many Americans who still understand that freedom is the magic elixir that drives growth and prosperity are exiting blue states, leaving them to stew in their left-wing, socialist, low-growth and low-opportunity juices.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Security footage shows the missing man crashing his car and abandoning it near the Best Western Hotel on Enterprise Drive.—
Julia Avant,
CBS News,
11 Feb. 2026
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Republican state lawmakers opposed the measure, saying the Legislature was circumventing its process and abandoning transparency and accountability in order to funnel tax dollars to a political ally.—
Andrew Graham,
Sacbee.com,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Meanwhile, one-suite Casa da Arvore is a tree house that taps the romance of fantasy shipwreck living—meanwhile, the living room itself is the open, ground floor space with swings, sea chests, and a pebble floor.—
Stephanie Rafanelli,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Feb. 2026
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Reuters — Fifteen migrants died after their boat collided with a coast guard vessel, capsized and sank off the Greek island of Chios in the Aegean Sea late on Tuesday, the Greek coast guard said, in one of Greece’s worst shipwrecks in years.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Hannah Hackemeyer, just 18 at the time of the 2024 single-car wreck, was sentenced Tuesday in the death of Sophia Lekiachvili, a spokesperson with the DeKalb District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.—
Caroline Silva,
AJC.com,
11 Feb. 2026
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Coppola, the head-of-table colossus, was fearless and senseless, a beautiful wreck, as lax with details as he was committed to art.—
Michael O’Donnell,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The video did not mention any specific orders, but the six were plainly referring to the sinking of Venezuelan ships in international waters topped off by the killing of survivors clinging to the wreckage of their vessel.—
James D. Zirin,
Washington Post,
3 Feb. 2026
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The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the sinking.—
Michael Casey,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stranding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stranding. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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