endurance
Americannoun
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the fact or power of enduring or bearing pain, hardships, etc.
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the ability or strength to continue or last, especially despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions; stamina.
He has amazing physical endurance.
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lasting quality; duration.
His friendships have little endurance.
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something endured, as a hardship; trial.
noun
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the capacity, state, or an instance of enduring
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something endured; a hardship, strain, or privation
Related Words
See patience.
Etymology
Origin of endurance
Explanation
Endurance is the power to withstand something challenging. If you decide to run a marathon, you will need lots of endurance to run over 26 miles. The noun endurance contains endure, which means "to suffer or undergo" and the suffix -ance means "the state of." It can be used to describe the physical strength to keep going, as in a marathon or giving birth, but it can also be used when discussing an exhausting mental situation or stressful time — the endurance to bounce back from heartbreak, perhaps.
Vocabulary lists containing endurance
Vocabulary of the Summer Olympics
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Excerpt from "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Endurance is built to validate several essential systems needed for operating on the lunar surface.
From Science Daily • May 6, 2026
Blue Origin's MK1 lunar lander, also known as Endurance, is an uncrewed cargo spacecraft designed to test key technologies for future Moon missions.
From Science Daily • May 6, 2026
Newly formed Endurance Investment Partners, backed by Rice Investment Group, is seeking $350 million for its debut fund to back mature energy companies.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026
But that was rejected by existing manufacturers, partly on the basis it might give Audi an advantage as they were doing that in the World Endurance Championship at the time.
From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026
Endurance was on its way to the frozen continent.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
