Definitions for strain

Overview of noun strain

The noun strain has 11 senses? (first 6 from tagged texts)

1. (5) strain

((physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces)

2. (3) stress, strain

(difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension; "she endured the stresses and strains of life"; "he presided over the economy during the period of the greatest stress and danger"- R.J.Samuelson)

3. (3) tune, melody, air, strain, melodic line, line, melodic phrase

(a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; "she was humming an air from Beethoven")

4. (2) strain, mental strain, nervous strain

((psychology) nervousness resulting from mental stress; "his responsibilities were a constant strain"; "the mental strain of staying alert hour after hour was too much for him")

5. (2) breed, strain, stock

(a special variety of domesticated animals within a species; "he experimented on a particular breed of white rats"; "he created a new strain of sheep")

6. (1) form, variant, strain, var.

((biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups; "a new strain of microorganisms")

7. strain

(injury to a muscle (often caused by overuse); results in swelling and pain)

8. tenor, strain

(the general meaning or substance of an utterance; "although I disagreed with him I could follow the tenor of his argument")

9. striving, nisus, pains, strain

(an effortful attempt to attain a goal)

10. strain, straining

(an intense or violent exertion)

11. song, strain

(the act of singing; "with a shout and a song they marched up to the gates")

Overview of verb strain

The verb strain has 9 senses? (first 5 from tagged texts)

1. (6) strive, reach, strain

(to exert much effort or energy; "straining our ears to hear")

2. (3) try, strain, stress

(test the limits of; "You are trying my patience!")

3. (3) strain, extend

(use to the utmost; exert vigorously or to full capacity; "He really extended himself when he climbed Kilimanjaro"; "Don't strain your mind too much")

4. (1) sift, sieve, strain

(separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements; "sift the flour")

5. (1) tense, strain, tense up

(cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious; "he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up")

6. strain, tense

(become stretched or tense or taut; "the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed;" "the rope strained when the weight was attached")

7. filter, filtrate, strain, separate out, filter out

(remove by passing through a filter; "filter out the impurities")

8. puree, strain

(rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender; "puree the vegetables for the baby")

9. deform, distort, strain

(alter the shape of (something) by stress; "His body was deformed by leprosy")