strong

American  

[strawng, strong] / strɔŋ, strɒŋ /

adjective

• stronger,
  comparative
• strongest
  superlative

1. having, showing, or able to exert great bodily or muscular power; physically vigorous or robust.

   a strong boy.

   Synonyms:

   stalwart, stout, muscular, hardy, sinewy, brawny, sturdy, mighty

   Antonyms:

   weak

2. accompanied or delivered by great physical, mechanical, etc., power or force.

   a strong handshake;

   With one strong blow the machine stamped out a fender.

3. mentally powerful or vigorous.

   He may be old, but his mind is still strong.

4. especially able, competent, or powerful in a specific field or respect.

   She's very strong in mathematics.

   He's weak at bat, but he's a strong fielder.

   Synonyms:

   efficient, capable, talented

5. of great moral power, firmness, or courage.

   strong under temptation.

   Synonyms:

   brave, valiant

6. powerful in influence, authority, resources, or means of prevailing or succeeding.

   a strong nation.

7. aggressive; willful.

   a strong personality.

   Synonyms:

   intense, bold

8. of great force, effectiveness, potency, or cogency; compelling.

   strong reasons;

   strong arguments.

   Synonyms:

   conclusive, impressive, cogent, persuasive

9. clear and firm; loud.

   He has a strong voice.

10. solid or stable; healthy; thriving.

    The banker predicted a strong economy.

    Synonyms:

    secure, firm, steady

11. well-supplied or rich in something specific.

    a strong hand in trumps.

12. having powerful means to resist attack, assault, or aggression.

    a strong fortress;

    a strong defense.

13. able to resist strain, force, wear, etc..

    strong walls;

    strong cloth.

14. decisively unyielding; firm or uncompromising.

    She has strong views about the United Nations.

    He has a strong sense of duty.

    Synonyms:

    resolute

15. fervent; zealous; thoroughgoing.

    He's a strong Democrat.

    Synonyms:

    vehement, fervid

16. strenuous or energetic; vigorous.

    strong efforts.

17. moving or acting with force or vigor.

    strong winds.

18. distinct or marked; vivid, as impressions, resemblance or contrast.

    He bears a strong resemblance to his grandfather.

    Synonyms:

    clear, unmistakable, striking

19. intense, as light or color.

    Synonyms:

    vivid, brilliant

20. having a large proportion of the effective or essential properties or ingredients; concentrated.

    strong tea.

21. (of a beverage or food) containing much alcohol.

    strong drink;

    The fruitcake was too strong.

22. having a high degree of flavor or odor.

    strong cheese;

    strong perfume.

    Synonyms:

    tart, tangy, hot, piquant, sharp, aromatic, pungent

23. having an unpleasant or offensive flavor or odor, especially in the process of decay.

    strong butter.

    Synonyms:

    rank, smelly

24. of a designated number.

    Marines 20,000 strong.

25. Commerce. characterized by steady or advancing prices.

    The market resumed its strong pace after yesterday's setback.

26. Grammar.

    1. (of Germanic verbs) having vowel change in the root in inflected forms, as the English verbs sing, sang, sung; ride, rode, ridden.

    2. (of Germanic nouns and adjectives) inflected with endings that are generally distinctive of case, number, and gender, as German alter Mann “old man.”

    3. belonging to the morphophonemically less regular of two inflectional subtypes.

27. (of a word or syllable) stressed.

28. Optics. having great magnifying or refractive power.

    a strong microscope.

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adverb

1. strongly.

idioms

1. come on strong, to behave in an aggressive, ardent, or flamboyant manner.

   When you're interviewed for the job, don't come on too strong.

strong British  

/ strɒŋ /

adjective

1. involving or possessing physical or mental strength

2. solid or robust in construction; not easily broken or injured

3. having a resolute will or morally firm and incorruptible character

4. intense in quality; not faint or feeble

   a strong voice

   a strong smell

5. easily defensible; incontestable or formidable

6. concentrated; not weak or diluted

7. 1. (postpositive) containing or having a specified number

      a navy 40 000 strong

   2. ( in combination )

      a 40 000-strong navy

8. having an unpleasantly powerful taste or smell

9. having an extreme or drastic effect

   strong discipline

10. emphatic or immoderate

    strong language

11. convincing, effective, or cogent

12. (of a colour) having a high degree of saturation or purity; being less saturated than a vivid colour but more so than a moderate colour; produced by a concentrated quantity of colouring agent

13. grammar

    1. denoting or belonging to a class of verbs, in certain languages including the Germanic languages, whose conjugation shows vowel gradation, as sing, sang, sung

    2. belonging to any part-of-speech class, in any of various languages, whose inflections follow the less regular of two possible patterns Compare weak

14. (of a wind, current, etc) moving fast

15. (of a syllable) accented or stressed

16. (of an industry, market, currency, securities, etc) firm in price or characterized by firm or increasing prices

17. (of certain acids and bases) producing high concentrations of hydrogen or hydroxide ions in aqueous solution

18. prosperous; well-to-do (esp in the phrase a strong farmer )

19. not to be prone to nausea

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adverb

1. informal in a strong way; effectively

   going strong

2. to make a forceful or exaggerated impression

strong More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing strong

• come on strong

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overstrongness
  noun
• strongness
  noun
• overstrong
  adjective
• self-strong
  adjective
• strongish
  adjective
• superstrong
  adjective
• overstrongly
  adverb
• strongly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• stronger
  comparative
• strongest
  superlative

Etymology

Origin of strong

First recorded before 900; (adjective) Middle English strang, strong, Old English; cognate with Middle Dutch stranc, Old Norse strangr; (adverb) Middle English strange, stronge, Old English; cognate with Old High German strango; akin to string

Explanation

Strong can describe anything with firmness or power. You could have a strong will and resist the distractions of the internet while writing a paper all day, or your paper could have a strong argument, convincing your reader of your wisdom. Even if you spend hours every day lifting weights, if you don’t eat enough food and drink enough water, you won’t be strong enough to do anything with all that muscle power. If you ran a national bank, you would try to make your currency stronger than that of other countries. Or you might be a woodworker who builds a chair strong enough to hold a three-hundred pound man.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

strong stronger strongest

After a takeover approach from crosstown rival Sazerac, he emailed a letter on behalf of the company to family shareholders telling them that the proposal wasn’t “actionable” and their company remains in a strong position.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Voiding the fat contracts of Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz — and making them immediate free agents — would send a strong message from the commissioner’s office that such conduct will not be tolerated.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

After the spell of showery weather earlier this week, a strong area of high pressure is set to bring bright and sunny weather to much of the UK this weekend.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

Yeast beta-glucan is already sold as a dietary supplement and has a strong safety record.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026

He fought against the Pull that was now so strong that he felt it all the time, and the fear of the demon he scented on the wind.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

In fact, there is slight evidence to the contrary — that the postmidterm rally is stronger when the market is also strong prior to the midterms.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026

They also hope to explore whether speaking two or more closely related languages could produce an even stronger effect.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026

"Previous theories could only describe these systems when the particles interacted relatively weakly. Our new approach lets us explore what happens when those interactions become much stronger, which is where the most interesting physics emerges."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

I don't think Chelsea will go from 10th to first again, like they did under Antonio Conte 10 years ago, because they had a much stronger team then.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

“But the wind’s a lot stronger up on the road.”

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

These enormous objects can weigh millions or even billions of times more than the sun, creating some of the strongest gravitational environments known in the universe.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

This would be unprecedented in records going back to 1950, and probably the strongest event since the 19th century.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Earnings barely grew at all in 2025 and 2024 as the strongest companies in the index were offset by weaker players.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

This year's El Nino is on track to be the strongest on record, threatening to unleash extreme weather across the globe and make 2027 the hottest recorded year by far.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

I go through the motions of flipping pages and scanning words, but I already know which entry’s heart beats the strongest or whatever, thanks to Dad.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Related Words

• bold
• bright
• high
• hot
• potent
• powerful
• rich
• robust
• sharp