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
Synonym Usage
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.
The 27-year-old UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider crossed the line on Paris' Champs-Elysees in the peloton, to join Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain as the endurance event's most successful male riders.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Pragmatists may favour a deal, hardliners may prefer endurance, while some military commanders could see escalation as strengthening Iran's bargaining position.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
“It’s really about endurance now,” said Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow specializing in Iran at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
This is no longer a search for a quick victory; it is a high-stakes test of endurance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
He had come out of nowhere, Mohammed Zeitoun, a sailor’s son from the tiny island of Arwad, and stunned everyone with his strength and endurance.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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.
