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.
Every time you fly, an extraordinary feat of endurance occurs inside the aircraft's engines.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
He continued to compete in touring car and endurance races, mostly in Australia, and became a popular motorsports pundit on television in his home country.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
For us older folks, ski-prep exercises are less about building muscle and more about protecting our joints, testing our balance and boosting our leg endurance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
As experienced as these players are, that became an endurance test for them with this album, as in the case of its lead single “Máquina.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
After saying the Pesukei DeZimra, I asked God for protection, strength, and endurance.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
