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strength

[strengkth, strength, strenth]
noun
  1. the quality or state of being strong; bodily or muscular power; vigor.
  2. mental power, force, or vigor.
  3. moral power, firmness, or courage.
  4. power by reason of influence, authority, resources, numbers, etc.
  5. number, as of personnel or ships in a force or body: a regiment with a strength of 3000.
  6. effective force, potency, or cogency, as of inducements or arguments: the strength of his plea.
  7. power of resisting force, strain, wear, etc.
  8. vigor of action, language, feeling, etc.
  9. the effective or essential properties characteristic of a beverage, chemical, or the like: The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.
  10. a particular proportion or concentration of these properties; intensity, as of light, color, sound, flavor, or odor: coffee of normal strength.
  11. something or someone that gives one strength or is a source of power or encouragement; sustenance: The Bible was her strength and joy.
  12. power to rise or remain firm in prices: Stocks continued to show strength. The pound declined in strength.
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Idioms
  1. on the strength of, on the basis of; relying on: He was accepted by the college on the strength of ardent personal recommendations.
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Origin of strength

before 900; Middle English strengthe, Old English strengthu; see strong, -th1
Related formsself-strength, nounsu·per·strength, noun

Synonyms

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for self-strength

Historical Examples

  • 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
  1. the state or quality of being physically or mentally strong
  2. the ability to withstand or exert great force, stress, or pressure
  3. something that is regarded as being beneficial or a source of powertheir chief strength is technology
  4. potency, as of a drink, drug, etc
  5. power to convince; cogencythe strength of an argument
  6. degree of intensity or concentration of colour, light, sound, flavour, etc
  7. the full or part of the full complement as specifiedat full strength; below strength
  8. finance firmness of or a rising tendency in prices, esp security prices
  9. archaic, or poetic a stronghold or fortress
  10. Australian and NZ informal the general idea, the main purposeto get the strength of something
  11. from strength to strength with ever-increasing success
  12. in strength in large numbers
  13. on the strength of on the basis of or relying upon
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Word Origin

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

n.

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)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with self-strength

strength

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

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.