Overview of noun strain

The noun strain has 11 senses

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


• 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)


• tune, melody, air, strain, melodic line, line, melodic phrase -- (a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; "she was humming an air from Beethoven")


• 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")


• 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")


• 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")


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


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


• striving, nisus, pains, strain -- (an effortful attempt to attain a goal)


• strain, straining -- (an intense or violent exertion)


• 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

• strive, reach, strain -- (to exert much effort or energy; "straining our ears to hear")


• try, strain, stress -- (test the limits of; "You are trying my patience!")


• 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")


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


• 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")


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


• filter, filtrate, strain, separate out, filter out -- (remove by passing through a filter; "filter out the impurities")


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


• deform, distort, strain -- (alter the shape of (something) by stress; "His body was deformed by leprosy")