1. (noun)strain (physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
2. (noun)stress, strain difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension "she endured the stresses and strains of life"; "he presided over the economy during the period of the greatest stress and danger"- R.J.Samuelson
3. (noun)tune, melody, air, strain, melodic line, line, melodic phrase a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence "she was humming an air from Beethoven"
4. (noun)strain, mental strain, nervous strain (psychology) nervousness resulting from mental stress "his responsibilities were a constant strain"; "the mental strain of staying alert hour after hour was too much for him"
5. (noun)breed, strain, stock a specialvariety of domesticated animals within a species "he experimented on a particular breed of white rats"; "he created a new strain of sheep"
6. (noun)form, variant, strain, var. (biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups
"a new strain of microorganisms"
8. (noun)tenor, strain the generalmeaning or substance of an utterance "although I disagreed with him I could follow the tenor of his argument"
9. (noun)striving, nisus, pains, strain an effortful attempt to attain a goal
10. (noun)strain, straining an intense or violent exertion
11. (noun)song, strain the act of singing "with a shout and a song they marched up to the gates"
12. (verb)strive, reach, strain to exert mucheffort or energy "straining our ears to hear"
13. (verb)try, strain, stress test the limits of
"You are trying my patience!"
14. (verb)strain, extend use to the utmost; exert vigorously or to fullcapacity "He really extended himself when he climbed Kilimanjaro"; "Don't strain your mind too much"
Definition of 'strain':
