Meaning of 'strain' (Webster Dictionary)
- 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 act upon, in any way, so as to cause change of form or
volume, as forces on a beam to bend it.
- To exert to the utmost; to ply vigorously.
- 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.
- To injure by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of force;
as, the gale strained the timbers of the ship.
- 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.
- To squeeze; to press closely.
- To make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent
effort; to force; to constrain.
- To urge with importunity; to press; as, to strain a
petition or invitation.
- 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.
- Race; stock; generation; descent; family.
- Hereditary character, quality, or disposition.
- Rank; a sort.
- The act of straining, or the state of being strained.
- 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.
- A change of form or dimensions of a solid or liquid mass,
produced by a stress.
- 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.
- 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.
- Turn; tendency; inborn disposition. Cf. 1st Strain.
- To make violent efforts.
- To percolate; to be filtered; as, water straining
through a sandy soil.
Meaning of 'strain' (Princeton's WordNet)
Meaning (1):
- (biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups
Example in sentence:- a new strain of microorganisms
Meaning (2):
- the general meaning or substance of an utterance
Example in sentence:- although I disagreed with him I could follow the tenor of his argument
Meaning (3):
- a special variety of domesticated animals within a species
Example in sentence:- he created a new strain of sheep;
- he experimented on a particular breed of white rats
Meaning (4):
- difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension
Example in sentence:- he presided over the economy during the period of the greatest stress and danger;
- she endured the stresses and strains of life
Meaning (5):
- (psychology) nervousness resulting from mental stress
Example in sentence:- his responsibilities were a constant strain;
- the mental strain of staying alert hour after hour was too much for him
Meaning (6):
- a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
Example in sentence:- she was humming an air from Beethoven
Meaning (7):
- the act of singing
Example in sentence:- with a shout and a song they marched up to the gates
Meaning (8):
- use to the utmost; exert vigorously or to full capacity
Example in sentence:- Don't strain your mind too much;
- He really extended himself when he climbed Kilimanjaro
Meaning (9):
- remove by passing through a filter
Example in sentence:- filter out the impurities
Meaning (10):
- cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious
Example in sentence:- he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up
Meaning (11):
- alter the shape of (something) by stress
Example in sentence:- His body was deformed by leprosy
Meaning (12):
- rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender
Example in sentence:- puree the vegetables for the baby
Meaning (13):
- separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements
Meaning (14):
- to exert much effort or energy
Example in sentence:- straining our ears to hear
Meaning (15):
- become stretched or tense or taut
Example in sentence:- the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed;
- the rope strained when the weight was attached
Meaning (16):
- test the limits of
Example in sentence:- You are trying my patience!
Definition
[ a.]