tensile strength

American  

noun

1. the resistance of a material to longitudinal stress, measured by the minimum amount of longitudinal stress required to rupture the material.

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tensile strength British  

noun

1. a measure of the ability of a material to withstand a longitudinal stress, expressed as the greatest stress that the material can stand without breaking

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tensile strength Scientific  

/ tĕn′səl,tĕn′sīl′ /

1. A measure of the ability of material to resist a force that tends to pull it apart. It is expressed as the minimum tensile stress (force per unit area) needed to split the material apart.

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Etymology

Origin of tensile strength

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

True, some worms can do that, too, but only spiders have spinnerets—specialized organs that produce silk—and the ability to weave threads that, though thinner than human hair, have greater tensile strength than steel.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

The tensile strength necessary to pull the trigger of a 9-millimeter Kel-Tec firearm is roughly 5½ to 6½ pounds.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2024

Though not reported in the paper, he also 3D-printed resin replicas of saber teeth and tested their bending strength and stiffness on a machine designed to measure tensile strength.

From Science Daily • Apr. 29, 2024

Doing so increases the tensile strength of the bags so much that they’re actually stronger than traditional plastic—as mighty as nylon used in parachutes and safety belts.

From National Geographic • Jan. 16, 2024

Dad is great, but he’s an inventor and he’d probably tune out while he sketched gigantic catapults and estimated the tensile strength required for a bungee cord to send a one-man glider into orbit.

From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen

Related Words

• durability
• hardness
• inflexibility
• toughness