'Strain' definitions:

Definition of 'strain'

(from WordNet)
noun
(physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
noun
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 [syn: stress, strain]
noun
A succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; "she was humming an air from Beethoven" [syn: tune, melody, air, strain, melodic line, line, melodic phrase]
noun
(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" [syn: strain, mental strain, nervous strain]
noun
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" [syn: breed, strain, stock]
noun
(biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups; "a new strain of microorganisms" [syn: form, variant, strain, var.]
noun
Injury to a muscle (often caused by overuse); results in swelling and pain
noun
The general meaning or substance of an utterance; "although I disagreed with him I could follow the tenor of his argument" [syn: tenor, strain]
noun
An effortful attempt to attain a goal [syn: striving, nisus, pains, strain]
noun
An intense or violent exertion [syn: strain, straining]
noun
The act of singing; "with a shout and a song they marched up to the gates" [syn: song, strain]
verb
To exert much effort or energy; "straining our ears to hear" [syn: strive, reach, strain]
verb
Test the limits of; "You are trying my patience!" [syn: try, strain, stress]
verb
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" [syn: strain, extend]
verb
Separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements; "sift the flour" [syn: sift, sieve, strain]
verb
Cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious; "he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up" [syn: tense, strain, tense up] [ant: loosen up, make relaxed, relax, unlax, unstrain, unwind]
verb
Become stretched or tense or taut; "the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed;" "the rope strained when the weight was attached" [syn: strain, tense]
verb
Remove by passing through a filter; "filter out the impurities" [syn: filter, filtrate, strain, separate out, filter out]
verb
Rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender; "puree the vegetables for the baby" [syn: puree, strain]
verb
Alter the shape of (something) by stress; "His body was deformed by leprosy" [syn: deform, distort, strain]

Definition of 'Strain'

From: GCIDE
  • Strain \Strain\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Strained; p. pr. & vb. n. Straining.] [OF. estraindre, estreindre, F. ['e]treindre, L. stringere to draw or bind tight; probably akin to Gr. ? a halter, ? that which is squeezwd out, a drop, or perhaps to E. strike. Cf. Strangle, Strike, Constrain, District, Strait, a. Stress, Strict, Stringent.]
  • 1. To draw with force; to extend with great effort; to stretch; as, to strain a rope; to strain the shrouds of a ship; to strain the cords of a musical instrument. "To strain his fetters with a stricter care." --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. (Mech.) To act upon, in any way, so as to cause change of form or volume, as forces on a beam to bend it. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To exert to the utmost; to ply vigorously. [1913 Webster]
  • He sweats, Strains his young nerves. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • They strain their warbling throats To welcome in the spring. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. To stretch beyond its proper limit; to do violence to, in the matter of intent or meaning; as, to strain the law in order to convict an accused person. [1913 Webster]
  • There can be no other meaning in this expression, however some may pretend to strain it. --Swift. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. To injure by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of force; as, the gale strained the timbers of the ship. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. To injure in the muscles or joints by causing to make too strong an effort; to harm by overexertion; to sprain; as, to strain a horse by overloading; to strain the wrist; to strain a muscle. [1913 Webster]
  • Prudes decayed about may track, Strain their necks with looking back. --Swift. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. To squeeze; to press closely. [1913 Webster]
  • Evander with a close embrace Strained his departing friend. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 8. To make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent effort; to force; to constrain. [1913 Webster]
  • He talks and plays with Fatima, but his mirth Is forced and strained. --Denham. [1913 Webster]
  • The quality of mercy is not strained. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 9. To urge with importunity; to press; as, to strain a petition or invitation. [1913 Webster]
  • Note, if your lady strain his entertainment. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 10. To press, or cause to pass, through a strainer, as through a screen, a cloth, or some porous substance; to purify, or separate from extraneous or solid matter, by filtration; to filter; as, to strain milk through cloth. [1913 Webster]
  • To strain a point, to make a special effort; especially, to do a degree of violence to some principle or to one's own feelings.
  • To strain courtesy, to go beyond what courtesy requires; to insist somewhat too much upon the precedence of others; -- often used ironically. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Strain'

From: GCIDE
  • Strain \Strain\, n. [See Strene.]
  • 1. Race; stock; generation; descent; family. [1913 Webster]
  • He is of a noble strain. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • With animals and plants a cross between different varieties, or between individuals of the same variety but of another strain, gives vigor and fertility to the offspring. --Darwin. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. Hereditary character, quality, or disposition. [1913 Webster]
  • Intemperance and lust breed diseases, which, propogated, spoil the strain of nation. --Tillotson. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. Rank; a sort. "The common strain." --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. (Hort.) A cultural subvariety that is only slightly differentiated. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

Definition of 'Strain'

From: GCIDE
  • Strain \Strain\ (str[=a]n), v. i.
  • 1. To make violent efforts. "Straining with too weak a wing." --Pope. [1913 Webster]
  • To build his fortune I will strain a little. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To percolate; to be filtered; as, water straining through a sandy soil. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Strain'

From: GCIDE
  • Strain \Strain\, n.
  • 1. The act of straining, or the state of being strained. Specifically: [1913 Webster] (a) A violent effort; an excessive and hurtful exertion or tension, as of the muscles; as, he lifted the weight with a strain; the strain upon a ship's rigging in a gale; also, the hurt or injury resulting; a sprain. [1913 Webster]
  • Whether any poet of our country since Shakespeare has exerted a greater variety of powers with less strain and less ostentation. --Landor. [1913 Webster]
  • Credit is gained by custom, and seldom recovers a strain. --Sir W. Temple. [1913 Webster] (b) (Mech. Physics) A change of form or dimensions of a solid or liquid mass, produced by a stress. --Rankine. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. (Mus.) A portion of music divided off by a double bar; a complete musical period or sentence; a movement, or any rounded subdivision of a movement. [1913 Webster]
  • Their heavenly harps a lower strain began. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. Any sustained note or movement; a song; a distinct portion of an ode or other poem; also, the pervading note, or burden, of a song, poem, oration, book, etc.; theme; motive; manner; style; also, a course of action or conduct; as, he spoke in a noble strain; there was a strain of woe in his story; a strain of trickery appears in his career. "A strain of gallantry." --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]
  • Such take too high a strain at first. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
  • The genius and strain of the book of Proverbs. --Tillotson. [1913 Webster]
  • It [Pilgrim's Progress] seems a novelty, and yet contains Nothing but sound and honest gospel strains. --Bunyan. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. Turn; tendency; inborn disposition. Cf. 1st Strain. [1913 Webster]
  • Because heretics have a strain of madness, he applied her with some corporal chastisements. --Hayward. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'strain'

From: Moby Thesaurus

Words containing 'Strain'