Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1800-1900
Origin: strait 'narrow, tight' ( STRAIT) + jacket

straitjacket

 noun
     
Related topics: Clothes
strait‧jack‧et , straightjacket [countable]
1DCCSC a special piece of clothing that prevents someone from moving their arms, used to control someone who is being violent or, in the past, someone who was mentally ill
2 something such as a law or set of ideas that puts very strict or unfair limits on someone:
the straitjacket of censorship
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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