strength

[strengkth, strength, strenth]

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noun

the quality or state of being strong; bodily or muscular power; vigor.

mental power, force, or vigor.

moral power, firmness, or courage.

power by reason of influence, authority, resources, numbers, etc.

number, as of personnel or ships in a force or body: a regiment with a strength of 3000.

effective force, potency, or cogency, as of inducements or arguments: the strength of his plea.

power of resisting force, strain, wear, etc.

vigor of action, language, feeling, etc.

the effective or essential properties characteristic of a beverage, chemical, or the like: The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.

a particular proportion or concentration of these properties; intensity, as of light, color, sound, flavor, or odor: coffee of normal strength.

something or someone that gives one strength or is a source of power or encouragement; sustenance: The Bible was her strength and joy.

power to rise or remain firm in prices: Stocks continued to show strength. The pound declined in strength.

Idioms

on the strength of, on the basis of; relying on: He was accepted by the college on the strength of ardent personal recommendations.

Origin of strength

before 900; Middle English strengthe, Old English strengthu; see strong, -th¹

Related formsself-strength, nounsu·per·strength, noun

Synonyms for strength

9. potency. 10. brightness, loudness, vividness, pungency.

Synonym study

4. Strength, power, force, might suggest capacity to do something. Strength is inherent capacity to manifest energy, to endure, and to resist. Power is capacity to do work and to act. Force is the exercise of power: One has the power to do something. He exerts force when he does it. He has sufficient strength to complete it. Might is power or strength in a great or overwhelming degree: the might of an army.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for self-strength

Historical Examples of self-strength

There was awareness of self-strength, ability to do certain things to and with that environment.
Eight Keys to Eden
Mark Irvin Clifton

British Dictionary definitions for self-strength

strength

noun

the state or quality of being physically or mentally strong

the ability to withstand or exert great force, stress, or pressure

something that is regarded as being beneficial or a source of powertheir chief strength is technology

potency, as of a drink, drug, etc

power to convince; cogencythe strength of an argument

degree of intensity or concentration of colour, light, sound, flavour, etc

the full or part of the full complement as specifiedat full strength; below strength

finance firmness of or a rising tendency in prices, esp security prices

archaic, or poetic a stronghold or fortress

Australian and NZ informal the general idea, the main purposeto get the strength of something

from strength to strength with ever-increasing success

in strength in large numbers

on the strength of on the basis of or relying upon

Word Origin for strength

Old English strengthu; related to Old High German strengida; see strong

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for self-strength

strength

Old English strengþu "power, force, vigor, moral resistance," from Proto-Germanic *strangitho (cf. Old High German strengida "strength"), in gradational relationship to the root of strong, with Proto-Germanic abstract noun suffix *-itho (see -th (2)).

Idioms and Phrases with self-strength

strength

see brute force (strength); on the strength of; tower of strength.