strain
1to draw tight or taut, especially to the utmost tension; stretch to the full: to strain a rope.
to exert to the utmost: to strain one's ears to catch a sound.
to impair, injure, or weaken (a muscle, tendon, etc.) by stretching or overexertion.
to cause mechanical deformation in (a body or structure) as the result of stress.
to stretch beyond the proper point or limit: to strain the meaning of a word.
to make excessive demands upon: to strain one's luck; to strain one's resources.
to pour (liquid containing solid matter) through a filter, sieve, or the like in order to hold back the denser solid constituents: to strain gravy.
to draw off (clear or pure liquid) by means of a filter or sieve: to strain the water from spinach; to strain broth.
to hold back (solid particles) from liquid matter by means of a filter or sieve: to strain seeds from orange juice; to strain rice.
to clasp tightly in the arms, the hand, etc.: The mother strained her child close to her breast.
Obsolete. to constrain, as to a course of action.
to pull forcibly: a dog straining at a leash.
to stretch one's muscles, nerves, etc., to the utmost.
to make violent physical efforts; strive hard.
to resist forcefully; balk: to strain at accepting an unpleasant fact.
to be subjected to tension or stress; suffer strain.
to filter, percolate, or ooze.
to trickle or flow: Sap strained from the bark.
any force or pressure tending to alter shape, cause a fracture, etc.
strong muscular or physical effort.
great or excessive effort or striving after some goal, object, or effect.
an injury to a muscle, tendon, etc., due to excessive tension or use; sprain.
Mechanics, Physics. deformation of a body or structure as a result of an applied force.
condition of being strained or stretched.
a task, goal, or effect accomplished only with great effort: Housecleaning is a real strain.
severe, trying, or fatiguing pressure or exertion; taxing onus: the strain of hard work.
a severe demand on or test of resources, feelings, a person, etc.: a strain on one's hospitality.
a flow or burst of language, eloquence, etc.: the lofty strain of Cicero.
Often strains. a passage of melody, music, or songs as rendered or heard: the strains of the nightingale.
Music. a section of a piece of music, more or less complete in itself.
a passage or piece of poetry.
the tone, style, or spirit of an utterance, writing, etc.: a humorous strain.
a particular degree, height, or pitch attained: a strain of courageous enthusiasm.
Origin of strain
1synonym study For strain
Other words for strain
Other words from strain
- strain·ing·ly, adverb
- strainless, adjective
- strain·less·ly, adverb
Words Nearby strain
Other definitions for strain (2 of 2)
the body of descendants of a common ancestor, as a family or stock.
any of the different lines of ancestry united in a family or an individual.
a group of plants distinguished from other plants of the variety to which it belongs by some intrinsic quality, such as a tendency to yield heavily; breed.
an artificial variety of a species of domestic animal or cultivated plant.
Microbiology, Pathology. a specific variety of a virus, bacterium, or other microorganism: A strain of the virus will have distinct virulent properties as well as a particular immune response.: Compare variant (def. 7).
ancestry or descent.
hereditary or natural character, tendency, or trait: a strain of insanity in a family.
a streak or trace.
a kind or sort.
Obsolete. procreation.
Origin of strain
2Other words for strain
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use strain in a sentence
That’s because it’s been done by growing a virus in cells from other species and waiting for a weaker strain to appear by chance.
Synthetic biologists have created a slow-growing version of the coronavirus to give as a vaccine | David Rotman | September 16, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewThe Atlantic’s subscriber base is growing at a moment when its advertising and events businesses, like most every media company’s, are under strain.
‘We’ve really reset our floor’: How The Atlantic gained 300,000 new subscribers in the past 12 months | Max Willens | September 10, 2020 | DigidayMost cytomegaloviruses don’t cause disease, and each strain has evolved to infect only one species, so the risk of a cytomegalovirus vaccine jumping between species is very low.
Can Vaccines for Wildlife Prevent Human Pandemics? | Rodrigo Pérez Ortega | August 24, 2020 | Quanta MagazineWe’re home to a strain of “innocent optimism,” the Post insisted.
Politics Report: A Poll and a Court Ruling in Key Council Race | Scott Lewis | August 22, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoAmerican and global health authorities pick the flu strains to target, drugmakers manufacture the shots, and they’re given by workplaces, schools, drugstores, local public-health departments, physicians and hospitals.
U.S. will conduct an unofficial dry run of a COVID-19 vaccine campaign this fall | Claire Zillman, reporter | August 19, 2020 | Fortune
I strain and push and pedal and wonder, “When will this end?”
However we strain to distract ourselves, our consciousness of death heightens our awareness of evil.
Clients supply transportation, lodging, and ingredients, including the preferred strain of ganja.
That is to say, the ancestral genes, the ancestral strain of inheritance, appears again in these little children.
Even before his injury, the strain had begun to tell on him.
When people argue in this strain, I immediately assume the offensive.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.If, now, the patient cough or strain as if at stool, the contents of the stomach will usually be forced out through the tube.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddWe ought to attempt such a shortening as will strain the machine to a breaking point, but never break it.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockThis was a great strain on their rather limited resources, and for some years they had to practise strict economy.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-PattisonThe Marshal, in his Memoirs, asserts that this short campaign was the severest strain he ever underwent.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison
British Dictionary definitions for strain (1 of 2)
/ (streɪn) /
to draw or be drawn taut; stretch tight
to exert, tax, or use (resources) to the utmost extent
to injure or damage or be injured or damaged by overexertion: he strained himself
to deform or be deformed as a result of a stress
(intr) to make intense or violent efforts; strive
to subject or be subjected to mental tension or stress
to pour or pass (a substance) or (of a substance) to be poured or passed through a sieve, filter, or strainer
(tr) to draw off or remove (one part of a substance or mixture from another) by or as if by filtering
(tr) to clasp tightly; hug
(tr) obsolete to force or constrain
(intr foll by at)
to push, pull, or work with violent exertion (upon)
to strive (for)
to balk or scruple (from)
the act or an instance of straining
the damage resulting from excessive exertion
an intense physical or mental effort
music (often plural) a theme, melody, or tune
a great demand on the emotions, resources, etc
a feeling of tension and tiredness resulting from overwork, worry, etc; stress
a particular style or recurring theme in speech or writing
physics the change in dimension of a body under load expressed as the ratio of the total deflection or change in dimension to the original unloaded dimension. It may be a ratio of lengths, areas, or volumes
Origin of strain
1British Dictionary definitions for strain (2 of 2)
/ (streɪn) /
the main body of descendants from one ancestor
a group of organisms within a species or variety, distinguished by one or more minor characteristics
a variety of bacterium or fungus, esp one used for a culture
a streak; trace
archaic a kind, type, or sort
Origin of strain
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for strain
[ strān ]
A group of organisms of the same species, sharing certain hereditary characteristics not typical of the entire species but minor enough not to warrant classification as a separate breed or variety. Resistance to specific antibiotics is a feature of certain strains of bacteria.
The extent to which a body is distorted when it is subjected to a deforming force, as when under stress. The distortion can involve a change both in shape and in size. All measures of strain are dimensionless (they have no unit of measure).♦ Axial strain is equal to the ratio between the change in length of an object and its original length.♦ Volume strain is equal to the ratio between the change in volume of an object and its original volume. It is also called bulk strain.♦ Shear strain is equal to the ratio between the amount by which an object is skewed and its length. Compare stress. See more at Hooke's law.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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