Definitions for strain
streɪnstrain

Princeton's WordNet(4.33 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. strain(noun)

   (physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces

2. stress, strain(noun)

   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. tune, melody, air, strain, melodic line, line, melodic phrase(noun)

   a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence

   "she was humming an air from Beethoven"

4. strain, mental strain, nervous strain(noun)

   (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. breed, strain, stock(noun)

   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. form, variant, strain, var.(noun)

   (biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups

   "a new strain of microorganisms"

7. strain(noun)

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

8. tenor, strain(noun)

   the general meaning or substance of an utterance

   "although I disagreed with him I could follow the tenor of his argument"

9. striving, nisus, pains, strain(noun)

   an effortful attempt to attain a goal

10. strain, straining(noun)

    an intense or violent exertion

11. song, strain(verb)

    the act of singing

    "with a shout and a song they marched up to the gates"

12. strive, reach, strain(verb)

    to exert much effort or energy

    "straining our ears to hear"

13. try, strain, stress(verb)

    test the limits of

    "You are trying my patience!"

14. strain, extend(verb)

    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. sift, sieve, strain(verb)

    separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements

    "sift the flour"

16. tense, strain, tense up(verb)

    cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious

    "he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up"

17. strain, tense(verb)

    become stretched or tense or taut

    "the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed;" "the rope strained when the weight was attached"

18. filter, filtrate, strain, separate out, filter out(verb)

    remove by passing through a filter

    "filter out the impurities"

19. puree, strain(verb)

    rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender

    "puree the vegetables for the baby"

20. deform, distort, strain(verb)

    alter the shape of (something) by stress

    "His body was deformed by leprosy"

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Strain(noun)

   race; stock; generation; descent; family

   Etymology: [See Strene.]

2. Strain(noun)

   hereditary character, quality, or disposition

   Etymology: [See Strene.]

3. Strain(noun)

   rank; a sort

   Etymology: [See Strene.]

4. Strain(adj)

   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

   Etymology: [See Strene.]

5. Strain(adj)

   to act upon, in any way, so as to cause change of form or volume, as forces on a beam to bend it

   Etymology: [See Strene.]

6. Strain(adj)

   to exert to the utmost; to ply vigorously

   Etymology: [See Strene.]

7. Strain(adj)

   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

   Etymology: [See Strene.]

8. Strain(adj)

   to injure by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of force; as, the gale strained the timbers of the ship

   Etymology: [See Strene.]

9. Strain(adj)

   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

   Etymology: [See Strene.]

10. Strain(adj)

    to squeeze; to press closely

    Etymology: [See Strene.]

11. Strain(adj)

    to make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent effort; to force; to constrain

    Etymology: [See Strene.]

12. Strain(adj)

    to urge with importunity; to press; as, to strain a petition or invitation

    Etymology: [See Strene.]

13. Strain(adj)

    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

    Etymology: [See Strene.]

14. Strain(verb)

    to make violent efforts

    Etymology: [See Strene.]

15. Strain(verb)

    to percolate; to be filtered; as, water straining through a sandy soil

    Etymology: [See Strene.]

16. Strain(noun)

    the act of straining, or the state of being strained

    Etymology: [See Strene.]

17. Strain(noun)

    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

    Etymology: [See Strene.]

18. Strain(noun)

    a change of form or dimensions of a solid or liquid mass, produced by a stress

    Etymology: [See Strene.]

19. Strain(noun)

    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

    Etymology: [See Strene.]

20. Strain(noun)

    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

    Etymology: [See Strene.]

21. Strain(noun)

    turn; tendency; inborn disposition. Cf. 1st Strain

    Etymology: [See Strene.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Strain

   strān, v.t. to stretch tight: to draw with force: to exert to the utmost: to injure by overtasking: to make tight: to constrain, make uneasy or unnatural: to press to one's self, to embrace: to pass through a filter.—v.i. to make violent efforts: to filter.—n. the act of straining: a violent effort: an injury inflicted by straining, esp. a wrenching of the muscles: a note, sound, or song, stretch of imagination, &c.: any change of form or bulk of a portion of matter either solid or fluid, the system of forces which sustains the strain being called the stress: mood, disposition.—ns. Strain′er, one who, or that which, strains: an instrument for filtration: a sieve, colander, &c.; Strain′ing, a piece of leather for stretching as a base for the seat of a saddle.—Strain a point, to make a special effort: to exceed one's duty; Strain at, in Matt. xxiii. 24, a misprint for Strain out. [O. Fr. straindre—L. stringĕre, to stretch tight. Cf. String and Strong.]

2. Strain

   strān, n. race, stock, generation: descent: natural tendency, any admixture or element in one's character.—n. Strain′ing-beam, a tie-beam uniting the tops of the queen-posts. [M. E. streen—A.S. gestréon, gain; confused in M. E. with the related M. E. strend—A.S. strynd, lineage.]

The Standard Electrical Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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.

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. strain

   Song lyrics by strain -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by strain on the Lyrics.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'strain' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4159

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'strain' in Nouns Frequency: #1423

3. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'strain' in Verbs Frequency: #943

How to pronounce strain?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say strain in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of strain in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of strain in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of strain in a Sentence

1. Keith Williams:

   In the poultry business, there's a positive determination that this new strain not have any chance at proving what it might be able to do.

2. Stefaan Poortman:

   Sites all over the world are under threat at any given moment. Apart from the monuments and ancient cities in the Middle East, I would say historic districts of major cities in Asia face the highest threat due to the unchecked sprawl and development, tourism is not regulated well enough and the massive influx is putting a strain on sites all over the world. The most well-known sites like Angkor or Machu Picchu are really swamped with tourism. Not only does it affect the sites but at a certain point, if unchecked, tourism can negatively impact the quality of life for local communities as well.

3. Jane Greer:

   If you learn to argue in a healthy way early on, then you're more comfortable expressing your emotions to your partner and working through your different points of view, this creates a good working framework for handling arguments in a positive way instead of them resurfacing constantly, causing more strain in the relationship.

4. John Updike:

   The founding fathers in their wisdom decided that children were an unnatural strain on parents. So they provided jails called schools, equipped with tortures called education. School is where you go between when your parents can't take you and industry can't take you.

5. Kee Kim:

   It’s not just that standing and sitting upright looks better. When you slouch forward at your desk, you are putting almost twice as much strain on the disks than if you were sitting straight up.

Images & Illustrations of strain

Popularity rank by frequency of use