Strain
WordNet
noun
(1) The act of singing
"With a shout and a song they marched up to the gates"
(2) An intense or violent exertion
(3) An effortful attempt to attain a goal
(4) A lineage or race of people
(5) The general meaning or substance of an utterance
"Although I disagreed with him I could follow the tenor of his argument"
(6) A succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
"She was humming an air from Beethoven"
(7) 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"
(8) (biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups
"A new strain of microorganisms"
(9) (physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
(10) Injury to a muscle (often caused by overuse); results in swelling and pain
(11) (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"
(12) 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
verb
(13) Cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious
"He got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up"
(14) Alter the shape of (something) by stress
"His body was deformed by leprosy"
(15) To exert much effort or energy
"Straining our ears to hear"
(16) 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"
(17) Remove by passing through a filter
"Filter out the impurities"
(18) Separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements
"Sift the flour"
(19) Become stretched or tense or taught
"The bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed;" "the rope strained when the weight was attached"
(20) Test the limits of
"You are trying my patience!"
WiktionaryText
Etymology 1
, , from , from ( cognate with Latin
Noun
- Treasure.
- The blood-vessel in the yolk of an egg.
- Race; lineage, pedigree.
- a tune, melody
- A particular breed or race of animal, microbe etc.
- They say this year's flu virus is a particularly virulent strain.
- Hereditary character, quality, or disposition.
- There is a strain of madness in her family.
- A kind or sort (of person etc.).
Etymology 2
( > French ), from .
Noun
- The amount by which a material deforms under stress or force, given as a ratio of the deformation to the initial dimension of the material and typically symbolised by ε is termed the engineering strain. The true strain is defined as the natural logarithm of the ratio of the final dimension to the initial dimension.
Verb
- To exert or struggle (to do something), especially to stretch too far.
- Sitting in back, I strained to hear the speaker.
- To apply a force or forces to
- Relations between the United States and Guatemala traditionally have been close, although at times strained by human rights and civil/military issues.
- To tighten the strings of a musical instrument; to uplift one’s voice
- To separate solid from liquid by passing through a strainer or colander