strain

[ streyn ]

/ streɪn /

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See synonyms for: strain / strained / straining / strains on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to 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.

verb (used without object)

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.

noun

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR strain

1 extend.

7 filter, sieve.

10 hug, embrace, press.

17 seep.

20 exertion.

22 wrench.

See synonyms for strain on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of strain

First recorded in1250–1300; Middle English streinen (verb), from Old French estrein-, stem of estreindre “to press tightly, grip,” from Latin stringere “to bind, tie, draw tight.” See stringent

synonym study for strain

3. Strain, sprain imply a wrenching, twisting, and stretching of muscles and tendons. To strain is to stretch tightly, make taut, wrench, tear, cause injury to, by long-continued or sudden and too violent effort or movement: to strain one's heart by overexertion, one's eyes by reading small print. To sprain is to strain excessively (but without dislocation) by a sudden twist or wrench, the tendons and muscles connected with a joint, especially those of the ankle or wrist: to sprain an ankle.

OTHER WORDS FROM strain

strain·ing·ly, adverbstrainless, adjectivestrain·less·ly, adverb

Words nearby strain

straight ticket, straight time, straight up, straightway, straight whiskey, strain, strained, strainer, strain fracture, strain gauge, strain hardening

Other definitions for strain (2 of 2)

strain²

[ streyn ]

/ streɪn /

noun

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR strain

7 streak, vein, predisposition.

See synonyms for strain on Thesaurus.com

Origin of strain

First recorded before 950; Middle English stren(e), streine “gain, acquisition; sexual intercourse, procreation,” Old English strēon, strīon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

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 Review
The 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|Digiday
Most 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 Magazine
We’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 Diego

American 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?”
Biking With the Bard|Kara Cutruzzula|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
However we strain to distract ourselves, our consciousness of death heightens our awareness of evil.
McConaughey’s ‘Stand’—And Ours|James Poulos|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Clients supply transportation, lodging, and ingredients, including the preferred strain of ganja.
Meet the Julia Child of Weed|Justin Jones|November 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That is to say, the ancestral genes, the ancestral strain of inheritance, appears again in these little children.
Joseph Campbell on the Roots of Halloween|Joseph Campbell|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even before his injury, the strain had begun to tell on him.
When West Point Football Turned Fatal|Nicolaus Mills|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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 Todd
We 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 Leacock
This 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-Pattison
The 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)

strain¹

/ (streɪn) /

verb

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 overexertionhe 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)

noun

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

Word Origin for strain

C13: from Old French estreindre to press together, from Latin stringere to bind tightly

British Dictionary definitions for strain (2 of 2)

strain²

/ (streɪn) /

noun

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

Word Origin for strain

Old English strēon; related to Old High German gistriuni gain, Latin struere to construct

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

Medical definitions for strain (1 of 2)

strain 2²

[ strān ]

The collective descendants of a common ancestor; a race, stock, line, or breed.

Any of the various lines of ancestry united in an individual or a family; ancestry or lineage.

A group of organisms of the same species, having distinctive characteristics but not usually considered a separate breed or variety.

An artificial variety of a domestic animal or cultivated plant.

Medical definitions for strain (2 of 2)

strain 1¹

[ strān ]

To pull, draw, or stretch tight.

To stretch or exert one's muscles or nerves to the utmost.

To injure or impair by overuse or overexertion; wrench.

To filter, trickle, percolate, or ooze.

To pass a liquid through a filtering agent such as a strainer.

To draw off or remove by filtration.

The act of straining.

The state of being strained.

Extreme or laborious effort.

A great or excessive pressure, demand, or stress on one's body, mind, or resources.

A wrench, twist, or other physical injury resulting from excessive tension, effort, or use.

Scientific definitions for strain

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.

strain

OTHER WORDS FOR strain

Origin of strain

synonym study for strain

OTHER WORDS FROM strain

Words nearby strain

Other definitions for strain (2 of 2)

OTHER WORDS FOR strain

Origin of strain

Words related to strain

How to use strain in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for strain (1 of 2)

Word Origin for strain

British Dictionary definitions for strain (2 of 2)

Word Origin for strain

Medical definitions for strain (1 of 2)

Medical definitions for strain (2 of 2)

Scientific definitions for strain