stringer

From string +‎ -er (“agent”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /stɹɪŋə/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /stɹɪŋɚ/
• Rhymes: -ɪŋə(ɹ)

stringer (plural stringers)

1. Someone who threads something; one who makes or provides strings, especially for bows.
   • Ascham

     Be content to put your trust in honest stringers.

2. Someone who strings someone along.
3. A horizontal timber that supports upright posts, or supports the hull of a vessel.
4. The side rail supporting the rungs of a ladder or the steps of a flight of stairs.
5. A small screw-hook to which piano strings are sometimes attached.
6. A freelance correspondent not on the regular newspaper staff, especially one retained on a part-time basis to report on events in a particular place.
7. (sports) A person who plays on a particular string.
8. (surfing) Wooden strip running lengthwise down the centre of a surfboard, for strength.

   Line up the 1/2 template with the stringer (or draw a center line) — Stephen Pirsch

9. (baseball, slang, 1800s) A hard-hit ball.
10. (fishing) A cord or chain, sometimes with additional loops, that is threaded through the mouth and gills of caught fish.
    • 1970, Field & Stream (volume 75, number 7, page 76)

      "Okay, that's a keeper," Harold said as he netted the 3-pounder and put him on a stringer over the side of the boat.

11. A pallet or skid used when shipping less than truckload (LTL) freight. A platform typically constructed of timber or plastic designed such that freight may be stacked on top, able to be lifted by a forklift.
12. (obsolete) A libertine; a wencher.

    (Can we find and add a quotation of Beaumont and Fletcher to this entry?)

• restring, ringster