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.
"Their skill, endurance, and judgment directly translated into lives saved."
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
“People don’t talk about God a lot, but I’m just so grateful that God gave me the endurance to continue and push through despite whatever,” Halsey says.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
Into that hole she and Ms. Andrade will plunge—after, naturally, a sauna—and begin Ms. Andrade’s training as an endurance swimmer and endurance breather.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026
In a moment when partisanship dominates coverage, his passing invites reflection on the role of law, accountability, and the endurance of civic norms.
From Salon • Mar. 21, 2026
In honor of his family motto, “By endurance we conquer,” Shackleton rechristened the ship Endurance.
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.
