Definitions of strain [ɪn]

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Definition of 'strain'

Random House Webster's College Dictionary

1. (v.t.) strain
to draw tight; make taut:
to strain a rope.

2.  strain
to exert to the utmost:
to strain one's reach.

3.  strain
to injure (a muscle, tendon, etc.) by stretching or overexertion.

4.  strain
to cause mechanical deformation in by stress.

5.  strain
to stretch beyond the proper limit:
to strain the meaning of a word.

6.  strain
to make excessive demands upon:
to strain one's resources.

7.  strain
to cause to pass through a strainer.

8.  strain
to draw off by means of a strainer:
to strain the water from spinach.

9. (v.i.) strain
to pull forcibly:
a dog straining at a leash.

10.  strain
to make strenuous efforts; exert oneself.

11.  strain
to resist forcefully; balk.

12.  strain
to undergo strain.

13.  strain
to filter, percolate, or ooze.

14. (n.) strain
any force or pressure tending to alter shape, cause a fracture, etc.

15.  strain
strong muscular or physical effort.

16.  strain
great effort in pursuit of a goal.

17.  strain
an injury to a muscle, tendon, etc., due to excessive tension or use; sprain.

18.  strain
deformation of a solid body or structure in response to application of a force.

19.  strain
condition of being strained or stretched.

20.  strain
severe or fatiguing pressure:
the strain of hard work.

21. (n.) strain
the body of descendants of a common ancestor, as a family or stock.

22.  strain
any of the different lines of ancestry united in a family or an individual.

23.  strain
an artificial variety of a species of domestic animal or cultivated plant.

24.  strain
a variety, esp. of microorganisms.

25.  strain
ancestry or descent.

26.  strain
hereditary or natural character, tendency, or trait:
a strain of insanity in a family.

27.  strain
a streak or trace.

28.  strain
a kind or sort.

29. (n.) strain
a flow or burst of language, eloquence, etc.:
the lofty strain of Cicero.

30.  strain
a melody; tune.

31.  strain
a passage or piece of poetry.

32.  strain
a pervading style; spirit:
a humorous strain.

Etymology: (1555–65; cf. obs.

Definition of 'strain'

Princeton's WordNet

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 special variety 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"

7. (noun) strain
injury to a muscle (often caused by overuse); results in swelling and pain

8. (noun) tenor, strain
the general meaning 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. (verb) 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 much effort 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 full capacity
"He really extended himself when he climbed Kilimanjaro"; "Don't strain your mind too much"

15. (verb) sift, sieve, strain
separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements
"sift the flour"

16. (verb) tense, strain, tense up
cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious
"he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up"

17. (verb) strain, tense
become stretched or tense or taut
"the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed;" "the rope strained when the weight was attached"

18. (verb) filter, filtrate, strain, separate out, filter out
remove by passing through a filter
"filter out the impurities"

19. (verb) puree, strain
rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender
"puree the vegetables for the baby"

20. (verb) deform, distort, strain
alter the shape of (something) by stress
"His body was deformed by leprosy"

Definition of 'strain'

Kernerman English Learner’s Dictionary

1. (noun) strain
stress or problems caused by too much work or worry
the strain of working two jobs to feed her family; soldiers under strain; High demand puts a strain on the electricity supply.

2.  strain
a painful muscle that has been pulled or twisted
a shoulder strain

3.  strain
physical stress or injury
the strain on your eyes from staring at a computer

4.  strain
in science, a type of sth
A new strain of the fungus is affecting crops.

5. (verb) strain
to twist or pull a muscle
I strained my wrist.

6.  strain
to make sb or sth have stress or problems
My father's illness strained relationships within the family.; expensive medical bills that strain the finances

7.  strain
to use a lot of physical effort to do sth
He strained to reach the rope as it slid away.

8.  strain
to separate the solid pieces from a liquid
Strain the lumps from the sauce.

Definition of 'strain'

Webster Dictionary

1. (adj) strain
to draw with force; to extend with great effort; to stretch; as, to strain a rope; to strain the shrouds of a ship; to strain the cords of a musical instrument

2. (adj) strain
to act upon, in any way, so as to cause change of form or volume, as forces on a beam to bend it

3. (adj) strain
to exert to the utmost; to ply vigorously

4. (adj) strain
to stretch beyond its proper limit; to do violence to, in the matter of intent or meaning; as, to strain the law in order to convict an accused person

5. (adj) strain
to injure by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of force; as, the gale strained the timbers of the ship

6. (adj) strain
to injure in the muscles or joints by causing to make too strong an effort; to harm by overexertion; to sprain; as, to strain a horse by overloading; to strain the wrist; to strain a muscle

7. (adj) strain
to squeeze; to press closely

8. (adj) strain
to make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent effort; to force; to constrain

9. (adj) strain
to urge with importunity; to press; as, to strain a petition or invitation

10. (adj) strain
to press, or cause to pass, through a strainer, as through a screen, a cloth, or some porous substance; to purify, or separate from extraneous or solid matter, by filtration; to filter; as, to strain milk through cloth

11. (noun) strain
race; stock; generation; descent; family

12. (noun) strain
hereditary character, quality, or disposition

13. (noun) strain
rank; a sort

14. (noun) strain
the act of straining, or the state of being strained

15. (noun) strain
a violent effort; an excessive and hurtful exertion or tension, as of the muscles; as, he lifted the weight with a strain; the strain upon a ship's rigging in a gale; also, the hurt or injury resulting; a sprain

16. (noun) strain
a change of form or dimensions of a solid or liquid mass, produced by a stress

17. (noun) strain
a portion of music divided off by a double bar; a complete musical period or sentence; a movement, or any rounded subdivision of a movement

18. (noun) strain
any sustained note or movement; a song; a distinct portion of an ode or other poem; also, the pervading note, or burden, of a song, poem, oration, book, etc.; theme; motive; manner; style; also, a course of action or conduct; as, he spoke in a noble strain; there was a strain of woe in his story; a strain of trickery appears in his career

19. (noun) strain
turn; tendency; inborn disposition. Cf. 1st Strain

20. (verb) strain
to make violent efforts

21. (verb) strain
to percolate; to be filtered; as, water straining through a sandy soil

Definition of 'strain'

The Standard Electrical Dictionary

1. strain
The condition of a body when subjected to a stress. Various consequences may ensue from strain in the way of disturbance of electric and other qualities of the body strained.

Translation of 'strain'

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary

Sense: to exert oneself or a part of the body to the greatest possible extent They strained at the door, trying to pull it open; He strained to reach the rope.
Afrikaans: trek	Arabic: يَلْوي، يُوَتِّرُ، يَضْغَ	Bulgarian: опъвам (се)
Brazilian: esforçar-se	Czech: natahovat (se); cloumat	German: anstrengen
Danish: presse; strække (sig)	Greek: τεντώνω, τεντώνομαι	Spanish: estirar, tensar
Estonian: pingutama	Farsi: خود را از توان انداختن	Finnish: pinnistää
French: tendre fortement	Hebrew: לִמתוֹחַ	Hindi: तनना, तानना, खींचना
Croatian: napinjati, naprezati	Hungarian: (meg)feszít	Indonesian: meregang
Icelandic: leggja sig allan fram, st	Italian: sforzare, sforzarsi; tira	Japanese: 張り詰める
Korean: 힘을 쓰다, 긴장시키다	Lithuanian: iš(si)tempti, stengtis iš	Latvian: sasprindzināt; piepūlēt;
Malay: bersungguh-sungguh mencub	Dutch: zich inspannen	Norwegian: anstrenge (seg), stramme,
Polish: wysilać się	Persian: خود را از توان انداختن	Pashto: ځان له توان څخه غورځول
Portuguese: esforçar-se	Romanian: a (se)întinde puternic	Russian: напрягать(ся); прилагать
Slovak: naťahovať (sa); mykať	Slovenian: napeti (se)	Serbian: nategnuti
Swedish: anstränga [sig], pressa m	Thai: ดึง	Turkish: kendini zorlamak
Taiwanese: 盡力	Ukrainian: напружувати(ся); старатис	Urdu: کھینچنا
Vietnamese: ráng sức	Chinese: 尽力
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