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strain
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
strain
I.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a strain of a virus (=one type of it)
▪ Doctors fear that a new strain of the virus will appear.
a strained/tense atmosphere (=not relaxed)
▪ As soon as I went in, I was aware of the tense atmosphere in the room.
bear the strain/pressure
▪ Mark couldn’t bear the pressure of the job any longer.
buckle under the pressure/strain/weight
▪ A weaker person would have buckled under the weight of criticism.
eye strain
hamstring injury/problem/strain etc
intolerable burden/strain/pressure
▪ Caring for an elderly relative can become an intolerable burden.
pull/strain a muscle (=injure it)
▪ He pulled a muscle in his calf.
repetitive strain injury
strain/stretch credulity (=seem very difficult to believe)
▪ It strained credulity to believe that a nuclear war would not lead to the destruction of the planet.
stresses and strains (=a lot of different worries that are caused by something)
▪ the stresses and strains of everyday life
undue pressure/stress/strain etc
▪ Exercise gently and avoid putting yourself under undue strain.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
considerable
▪ I had no time to feel sorry for him though because I was under considerable strain myself.
▪ Manipulating this much information puts a considerable strain on the processor's memory and gives you a storage problem to boot!
▪ Should the pill prove too bitter, it will add considerable strain to already tense east-west relations.
different
▪ Protoplasts from different strains of plant have been joined, giving rise to a completely new variety blending characteristics from each parent.
▪ As wheat cultivation developed and different strains of wheat became avail-able, the balance tipped away from rye.
▪ Apparently, different strains of the bacterium produce different toxins which are active against a wide range of insects.
▪ Knowing how the bacterium varies its outer coat can help scientists prepare vaccines to combat different strains.
▪ These represent either two 16S rDNA genes in Nasonia Wolbachia or infection by two different bacterial strains.
▪ Sourdough yeast, for instance, is a different strain from other bread yeasts, which accounts for its unique flavor.
▪ Some genetically different strains of rats, for example, differ in their ability to learn to run through mazes.
▪ By planting a different, male-fertile strain among it, the breeders can collect hybrid seed.
emotional
▪ Leaving children behind may put an emotional strain on the family.
▪ She cited its rigorous program and emotional strain.
▪ I am under such a constant mental and emotional strain.
▪ No matter how partners parent, children introduce the kind of emotional strain that can shatter old harmonies and certainties.
▪ This was usually a person undergoing great emotional strain, such as a girl experiencing a particularly traumatic puberty.
▪ Self-victimisation usually occurs when one can not handle the emotional strain that goes with a relationship conflict. 17.
▪ This pantomime went on for some time and, inevitably, the emotional strain brought on a resurgence of his symptoms.
▪ You must not underestimate how much practical, physical and emotional strain this situation creates for you.
financial
▪ The financial strain upon the Danzigers came from other directions too.
▪ The financial strain of the earlier primary elections means there will not be a television-advertising blitz in California.
▪ Evidence shows that some residential projects are coming under financial strain as money and clients dry up.
great
▪ She could tell there was some great strain in him, just from the way he held himself.
▪ This was usually a person undergoing great emotional strain, such as a girl experiencing a particularly traumatic puberty.
▪ For Hammam, running a club with gates dipping below 5,000 has been a great strain.
▪ Advances in commerce and the use of money were placing great strains on the rice-based economy.
▪ The great strain for married couples in modernity is the absurdly high expectation of the marriage bond.
▪ Despite the beauty of Lear's plates, the young artist felt his work for Gould a great strain.
▪ Certainly the Bevanites could claim that rearmament was imposing too great a strain on the economy.
▪ In conformity with the greater strain placed on them, the forequarters show a less angled system for support and braking.
intolerable
▪ To accept them all would place an intolerable strain on her health, but she rarely fails to help a charity.
▪ The fund's other trustees had left and he was under an intolerable strain, working more than 12 hours a day.
▪ Suddenly they gave under the intolerable strain, ripped free from their mountings and crashed to the ground.
▪ Is your cabinet under an intolerable strain.
mutant
▪ One of the most remarkable observations concerning the mutant strain was the fact that it appeared very little affected by this mutation.
▪ If a mutant strain appears that eschews recombination, it proves to be especially susceptible to damage by ultraviolet light.
▪ Transcript/srRNA hybridization signal ratios were compared for the wild-type and mutant strains.
▪ The mutant strain appeared in the south of Shetland, just as the council approved the scheme for another year.
▪ Hence, there was an increase in the number of mitochondrial genomes per nuclear genome in the mutant strain.
▪ The possible implications of these results on the mutant strain phenotype are discussed.
nervous
▪ It could not be true that nervous strain made you lose weight.
new
▪ Growing in the wild, plants related to our cultivated food crops provide new genetic strains.
▪ Scientists found the new strain in an infant boy after he underwent heart surgery.
▪ Such techniques can greatly accelerate the development and propagation of new and uniform strains and varieties of plant.
▪ At the end of 400 generations, the E. coli bacteria had bred new strains of itself with slightly different genes.
▪ The long-term prospects are also good-the new strain appears to be stable and to stay permanently on teeth.
▪ The outbreak was eventually traced to a new strain of E. coli on hamburger meat.
▪ Clinical trials start this year and Hillman is confident that they will confirm the safety and effectiveness of the new strain.
▪ Over there is our herb garden, and here are some fruit trees, from which we are cultivating a new strain.
resistant
▪ Long-term use has led to the growth of resistant strains.
▪ As drugs kill off the virus most susceptible to them, they leave behind the more resistant strains.
▪ The most effective destroyers of drugs are ordinary enzymes made in huge amounts by resistant strains.
▪ The risk of resistant strains of bacteria developing through complacent use of medicated feeds is high.
▪ More to the point, as resistant strains emerge, the greater becomes our need for new antibiotics to cure sick people.
▪ Whenever possible, patients who do not respond to antibiotics should be screened for resistant strains.
▪ The first resistant strain was found within a year of its use and soon spread.
severe
▪ Even if you have the cash, paying it over could be a severe strain on your resources.
▪ Aside from the policy of confronting union power, other aspects of the Selsdon programme were under severe strain by 1972.
▪ Both institutions claim to be under severe strain - although both are also busy planning new extensions.
▪ The additional cost of repairs in mid-Ulster and central Belfast will put severe strain on the Northern Ireland Office budget.
▪ The system is under severe strain.
▪ Its rapid expansion is causing severe strains on its current buildings on Corstorphine Hill.
▪ It is also likely that a veto would produce severe strains in the relationship between Edinburgh and London.
▪ The crisis is putting severe strain on the health service.
undue
▪ In other words you are putting undue strain on your machine.
▪ This exercise encourages suppleness in the spine without undue strain on the body.
■ NOUN
energy
▪ Experimental determinations of the form of the strain energy function have led to many proposals of its nature.
▪ Small earthquakes occur continually but relieve only a negligible portion of the accumulated strain energy.
▪ The kinetic energy, or energy of motion, of the ship has been exchanged for strain energy in the rope.
▪ Thus a crack two microns deep releases four times as much strain energy as one one micron deep and so on.
eye
▪ The colour graphics are reasonable and quite large so you will have no problems with eye strain.
▪ As she describes the irritating eye strain, Estrada laughs self consciously.
▪ VDUs are suspected by some of causing eye strain, postural problems and even of spreading harmful radiation across the room.
▪ Headache from the inability to focus the eyes rapidly enough, from eye strain.
▪ Unfortunately, though comprehensive on training, it said nothing about eye strain!
▪ If you develop eye strain it might be because you are reading too close to the printed page.
▪ But many find they help to maintain alertness and reduce headaches and eye strain from close work.
groin
▪ Argyle player-manager Shilton ruled himself out of the hiding-to-nothing trip with a groin strain.
▪ He was sidelined by a groin strain throughout much of training camp but was ready to play by opening night.
▪ Ally Mauchlen, substituted on Saturday with a groin strain, is also struggling to make it.
▪ First, there was the groin strain that put him on the disabled list from April 28-May 12.
▪ Paul Bodin's still receiving treatment for his groin strain.
▪ The 30-year-old Warwickshire captain was the selectors' choice after Lewis broke down with a groin strain.
▪ He has been advised that rest is the only remedy for a recurring groin strain.
▪ He could be joined by Steve Whitton, back after a groin strain.
hamstring
▪ Much depends on whether Neil Fairbrother is fit following a hamstring strain.
▪ He faces a fitness test today on the hamstring strain that has kept him out for two matches.
▪ Parker has not played in United's last five matches after picking up a hamstring strain on March 14.
▪ Liverpool give John Barnes only an even-money chance of recovering from his hamstring strain.
muscle
▪ Warming up Before you begin, take time to do the leg stretches overleaf which will help prevent any muscle strain.
▪ We are, literally, a masterpiece of balance. Muscle strains and spasms are inevitable, though.
▪ Hill has ended his last three games in agony since he first suffered the muscle strain at Ipswich earlier this month.
▪ After missing the first Test because of a muscle strain, Gillespie now has 18 wickets in the series.
■ VERB
bear
▪ Inevitably it is women, as housewives particularly, who bear the strain of this.
▪ The rope is strong, capable of bearing a strain of three tons.
break
▪ Equivalent plasterboards break under the strain.
▪ Ropes broke under strain, or were worn through by prolonged use.
▪ If you clear them from the surface regularly, the net will not break under the strain.
▪ His health broke down under the strain of overwork, and he returned to Ortona in 1869 to convalesce.
buckle
▪ Perhaps his memory, like Henry's, was buckling under the strain of being forty.
▪ No wonder their marriage had buckled beneath the strain!
▪ Does the amp respond or does it buckle under the strain?
cause
▪ Failure of the chain links is called scission and it can be caused not only by strain but also by chemical means.
▪ The carrying no longer caused a strain, and his right hand could hold the pen unencumbered by other duties.
▪ Its rapid expansion is causing severe strains on its current buildings on Corstorphine Hill.
▪ However, sleeping with just your head on the pillow can cause neck strain.
collapse
▪ If it were otherwise the court system would simply collapse under the strain.
▪ His knees were wobbling as if they might collapse under the strain of holding his body upright.
crack
▪ One of the professional golfers had cracked under the strain yesterday.
▪ The ruling Gaullists and the Communists alike were in danger of cracking under the strain of the May Events.
▪ Then I sow one of my colleagues die from a heart attack and two others crack up under the strain.
▪ This concrete path is cracking up under the strain of thousands of paws padding over it.
ease
▪ Ember twisted his head to ease the strain in his neck.
▪ Western teaches a Santa leg lift to ease the strain.
▪ She was pushing his body to the limits of its endurance to divert and ease the strain on his spirit.
feel
▪ They have accentuated the inequalities of provision, with rural areas in the remoter mountains feeling the most strain.
▪ Everyone could feel the abnormal strains that were now racking the monied world.
▪ But even then they felt some strain.
▪ They believe more and more young people could be feeling the strain.
▪ The race was run at a tremendous pace, and Foinavon was soon feeling the strain.
▪ Even the guides solely dedicated un shopping are feeling the strain.
▪ It is clear that all solicitors involved in litigation are feeling the strain, though most maintain that the changes are positive.
hear
▪ Over the relay system Lucy could hear the filtered strains of Ain't Misbehavin'.
▪ As you approach the hotel ballroom, you begin to hear the faint strains of a Mariachi band.
▪ You could hear the strain in his voice.
impose
▪ Obviously this would impose a significant strain on the Exchequer.
▪ This expansion has imposed a strain on the control of fraud.
▪ Certainly the Bevanites could claim that rearmament was imposing too great a strain on the economy.
▪ This method imposes least strain on the interconnecting wires.
▪ Liberalization, however, can impose additional strain on a system.
▪ The events of 1982-3 imposed a much greater strain on the Constitution.
▪ The spate of new legislation imposes a great strain upon the smaller firm.
place
▪ The fact that an increasing number of women want paid employment has also placed further strain on caring arrangements.
▪ Occupational therapists also can modify items to make it possible to use them without placing a strain on arthritic joints.
▪ To accept them all would place an intolerable strain on her health, but she rarely fails to help a charity.
▪ The rapidly increasing urban population has placed an impossible strain on the provision of housing.
▪ Advances in commerce and the use of money were placing great strains on the rice-based economy.
▪ Though his extravagance was well rewarded, it must have placed a severe strain on the house's finances.
▪ The arms are straight, placing the strain on the larger groups of shoulder and back muscles.
▪ But it was the gruelling work schedule Kylie was now working which placed the greatest strain according to friends.
produce
▪ This produces a strain oscillating with the same frequency as, but out of phase with, the stress.
▪ Rather, poor eyesight uncorrected by glasses and harshly taxed by use may produce symptoms of strain, including headaches.
▪ But there were no obvious ways of producing attenuated strains of virus until a means of cultivation was established.
▪ The failure of animal breeders to produce a strain that can bias the gender of its offspring is glaring.
▪ It is also likely that a veto would produce severe strains in the relationship between Edinburgh and London.
▪ As welcome as these changes were, they none the less produced strains within the institution.
▪ The school has its own experimental farm, and has produced special strains of rice for the commune.
put
▪ But over the years both internal difficulties and external economic and regional pressures have put these policies under strain.
▪ He was hardly conscious most of the time, and I didn't want to put any more strain on him.
▪ Such efforts put heavy strains on the financial and human resources of the organization.
▪ This will help you to move in an easier way, putting less strain on your whole structure.
▪ The usual type of chair puts an enormous strain on the spine, back muscles and many of the internal organs.
▪ This can put a significant strain on resources.
▪ Do these tyres put an extra strain on the vehicle as they are bigger and probably heavier than Michelin 7.50 x 16.
show
▪ There was just that constant tiny worried frown between her brows to show the strain.
▪ The justices have shown signs of the strain that public attention can bring.
▪ That is the point at which the coalition began to show strain.
▪ An electrocardiogram showed right heart strain.
▪ Figure 2, for instance, shows the breaking strains of whiskers of two very different substances, silicon and zinc oxide.
▪ Colchester hit back to level at one set all and both sides were showing signs of strain.
▪ In repose, she showed still the strain she had been under, but it was otherwise a new Daisy.
▪ Stella had recovered much of her poise, and only the pallor of her face showed the strain she was under.
stand
▪ He waited until his stomach couldn't stand the strain any more, and rapped on the boy.
▪ Sadly, the underlying amateurishness of the organization could not stand the strain and the Guild disintegrated in 1888.
▪ Contemplating the walk back to town, I wondered if my boots would stand the strain.
▪ Well, if you think you could stand the strain of being part of this family, you're welcome.
▪ Will her voice stand the strain?
take
▪ To his left three guards had taken the strain on a rope that ran tight and stretched to the building.
▪ That takes the strain off a phone system designed to carry voice and provides higher throughput for Internet users and telecommuters.
▪ Planned participation A person with impaired hearing has to take a lot more strain than people with normal hearing.
▪ In the meantime consumers are taking the strain.
▪ Almost without thinking about it you will be doing more moving around, walking faster, taking stairs without strain, and so on.
▪ How well is it taking the strain?
▪ It has been especially adapted by her father to take the strain of the amount of money she always collects.
▪ High cost of taking the strain Wednesday People.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
nervous exhaustion/strain
▪ A week later he wrote to apologise to all six, putting his behaviour down to nervous exhaustion.
▪ Behind dosed doors Diana cried her eyes out with nervous exhaustion.
▪ It could not be true that nervous strain made you lose weight.
▪ Most of the others were suffering from a degree of nervous exhaustion after the long takeover struggle.
▪ Nor could they show her nervous exhaustion, her permanent anxiety for her loved ones, her acute worry about tomorrow.
▪ Their company seemed to drain me and send me into a state of nervous exhaustion after even a short while.
▪ This probably exacerbated his tendency to long periods of nervous exhaustion, which caused his absence from his parish while he recovered.
▪ Yet it s a one-joke play that teases out its central idea to the point of nervous exhaustion.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ a back strain
▪ A particularly hardy strain of the virus can make you ill for over a week.
▪ A pure-bred strain of barley is required in the production of this whisky.
▪ eye strain
▪ He could see the strain in her face as she told him what she was going through.
▪ He had trouble handling the strain of raising eight kids.
▪ She had a busy week, and she's under a lot of strain at the moment.
▪ The strain of managing such a huge company became too much for Anita.
▪ The strain was beginning to show in their friendship.
▪ The company wanted 110% commitment, and that put a strain on our marriage.
▪ The legal fight has been an enormous strain on my wife.
▪ The rope is capable of bearing a strain of three tons.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Argyle player-manager Shilton ruled himself out of the hiding-to-nothing trip with a groin strain.
▪ As she describes the irritating eye strain, Estrada laughs self consciously.
▪ Asthma / bronchitis claims jump 75 %; sprains / strains are 34. 6 % higher.
▪ Both of the positive control strains adhered strongly to HEp-2 cells.
▪ He is putting his body under unbelievable strain, which is fine when he is 26.
▪ Some had been finding work a strain and early retirement came as a relief.
▪ Such efforts put heavy strains on the financial and human resources of the organization.
▪ They also needed to determine the genetic sequence of the virus so that they could compare it with known herpes strains.
II.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
severely
▪ Relations between the two states were severely strained.
▪ And relations between Dublin and London have been severely strained.
▪ She was already twenty-one and their self-imposed tests of constraint were severely strained.
▪ A high-spending boom followed by bust and recession have severely strained relationships of all kinds.
■ NOUN
calf
▪ But defender Andy Barlow will be sidelined for a month after straining a calf muscle in training.
▪ George Williams played his first game after suffering from a strained calf muscle and quite clearly didn't have his full movement.
▪ At least the Clippers welcomed back Richardson, who missed two games with a strained right calf.
▪ The first substitution did not come until Richardson suffered a slightly strained right calf early in the fourth quarter.
credulity
▪ If anything, Letterman thinks, these women have a compulsion to reach a higher plane of conversation that strains credulity.
▪ It strains credulity, I know, but there were nights in those years when no man was bad-looking.
▪ On this page we add a post-script to the Century by straining the readers' credulity still further! 1.
▪ And, quite frankly, it strains the credulity of those who are asked to believe that it exists.
▪ To be asked to see myself as one in solidarity with first-century women strains my credulity.
▪ It strains credulity to think they could beat San Francisco and Dallas on the road.
ear
▪ In the brief lulls, my ears strained to catch the sound of the pigeon's soft, wheezy breathing.
▪ The man's pale blue eyes peered into the fog and his ears strained to catch the sound of approaching footsteps.
▪ Her heart thumped with excitement, her ears strained at the approach of every car.
hamstring
▪ Ten metres from the line I saw Ray, twisted to dip and strained my hamstring.
▪ Righthander Robert Person was scheduled to start, but a strained left hamstring sustained over the weekend could delay his spring debut.
▪ Bett has problems with a painful toe, and McClair strained a hamstring during a training session on Sunday.
▪ Karros is recovering from a strained hamstring and has yet to play in an exhibition game.
▪ Heat guard Eddie Jones left in the first quarter with a strained left hamstring and didn't return.
▪ Reed has missed the past week with a strained hamstring.
leash
▪ The shuttle stopped, trembling, as if straining at a leash.
muscle
▪ At the same time she could feel her neck muscles being strained.
▪ She wrapped herself around him like a clam in formation, her body one big muscle, straining.
nerve
▪ Vincent strained every nerve to turn himself into a draughtsman acceptable to the illustrated papers, and the strain showed.
relationship
▪ A high-spending boom followed by bust and recession have severely strained relationships of all kinds.
▪ This travel can strain family relationships.
▪ Troy Aikman facing interrogations about his strained relationship with Switzer.
▪ This strained family relationships, especially those of Committee members when unpopular decisions had to be made.
▪ Unlike the strained relationship between Caruso and Franz, he and Smits have become great friends.
▪ His attitudes and actions have further strained an already difficult relationship.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Strain the sauce through a sieve.
▪ James strained his right knee playing football.
▪ Repairs to the roof have severely strained the school's budget.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ His frightened eyes widened, straining to live.
▪ Righthander Robert Person was scheduled to start, but a strained left hamstring sustained over the weekend could delay his spring debut.
▪ She carries a small but distinct belly, which is straining the red material of the skirt.
▪ Sometimes he strained his head up towards the ceiling and his mouth moved as if he were trying to shout orders.
Related phrases:
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Strain

Strain \Strain\, n. [See Strene.]

  1. Race; stock; generation; descent; family.

    He is of a noble strain.
    --Shak.

    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.

  2. Hereditary character, quality, or disposition.

    Intemperance and lust breed diseases, which, propogated, spoil the strain of nation.
    --Tillotson.

  3. Rank; a sort. ``The common strain.''
    --Dryden.

  4. (Hort.) A cultural subvariety that is only slightly differentiated.

Strain

Strain \Strain\ (str[=a]n), v. i.

  1. To make violent efforts. ``Straining with too weak a wing.''
    --Pope.

    To build his fortune I will strain a little.
    --Shak.

  2. To percolate; to be filtered; as, water straining through a sandy soil.

Strain

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.

  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.

  3. To exert to the utmost; to ply vigorously.

    He sweats, Strains his young nerves.
    --Shak.

    They strain their warbling throats To welcome in the spring.
    --Dryden.

  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.

    There can be no other meaning in this expression, however some may pretend to strain it.
    --Swift.

  5. To injure by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of force; as, the gale strained the timbers of the ship.

  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.

    Prudes decayed about may track, Strain their necks with looking back.
    --Swift.

  7. To squeeze; to press closely.

    Evander with a close embrace Strained his departing friend.
    --Dryden.

  8. To make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent effort; to force; to constrain.

    He talks and plays with Fatima, but his mirth Is forced and strained.
    --Denham.

    The quality of mercy is not strained.
    --Shak.

  9. To urge with importunity; to press; as, to strain a petition or invitation.

    Note, if your lady strain his entertainment.
    --Shak.

  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.

    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.

Strain

Strain \Strain\, n.

  1. The act of straining, or the state of being strained. Specifically:

    1. 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.

      Whether any poet of our country since Shakespeare has exerted a greater variety of powers with less strain and less ostentation.
      --Landor.

      Credit is gained by custom, and seldom recovers a strain.
      --Sir W. Temple.

    2. (Mech. Physics) A change of form or dimensions of a solid or liquid mass, produced by a stress.
      --Rankine.

  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.

    Their heavenly harps a lower strain began.
    --Dryden.

  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.

    Such take too high a strain at first.
    --Bacon.

    The genius and strain of the book of Proverbs.
    --Tillotson.

    It [Pilgrim's Progress] seems a novelty, and yet contains Nothing but sound and honest gospel strains.
    --Bunyan.

  4. Turn; tendency; inborn disposition. Cf. 1st Strain.

    Because heretics have a strain of madness, he applied her with some corporal chastisements.
    --Hayward.

Related phrases:
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
strain

"line of descent, lineage, breed, ancestry," c.1200, from Old English strion, streon "a gain, acquisition, treasure; a begetting, procreation," from Proto-Germanic *streu-nam- "to pile up," from PIE root *stere- "to spread, extend, stretch out" (see structure (n.)). Hence "race, stock, line" (early 14c.). Applied to animal species from c.1600; usually involving fairly minor variations, but not distinct from breed (n.). Normal sound development would have yielded *streen, but the word was altered in late Middle English, apparently by influence of strain (n.1).

strain

"injury caused by straining," c.1400, from strain (v.). The meaning "passage of music" (1570s) probably developed from a verbal sense of "to tighten" the voice, which originally was used in reference to the strings of a musical instrument (late 14c.).

strain

c.1300, "tie, bind, fasten, gird," from present participle stem of Old French estreindre "bind tightly, clasp, squeeze," from Latin stringere (2) "draw tight, bind tight, compress, press together," from PIE root *streig- "to stroke, rub, press" (cognates: Lithuanian stregti "congeal, freeze, become stiff;" Greek strangein "twist;" Old High German strician "mends nets;" Old English streccian "to stretch;" German stramm, Dutch stram "stiff").\n

\nFrom late 14c. as "tighten; make taut," also "exert oneself; overexert (a body part)," Sense of "press through a filter, put (a liquid) through a strainer" is from early 14c. (implied in strainer); that of "to stress beyond measure, carry too far, make a forced interpretation of" is from mid-15c. Related: Strained; straining.

Wiktionary
strain

Etymology 1 n. 1 (context obsolete English) treasure. 2 (context obsolete English) The blood-vessel in the yolk of an egg. 3 (context archaic English) race; lineage, pedigree. 4 hereditary character, quality, or disposition. 5 A tendency or disposition. 6 (context literary English) 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 7 (context biology English) A particular breed or race of animal, microbe etc. 8 (context music English) 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. 9 (context rare English) A kind or sort (of person etc.). Etymology 2

n. The act of straining, or the state of being strained. vb. 1 (context obsolete English) To hold tightly, to clasp. 2 To apply a force or forces to by stretching out. 3 To damage by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of force. 4 To act upon, in any way, so as to cause change of form or volume, as when bending a beam. 5 To exert or struggle (to do something), especially to stretch (one's senses, faculties etc.) beyond what is normal or comfortable. 6 To stretch beyond its proper limit; to do violence to, in terms of intent or meaning. 7 (context transitive English) To separate solid from liquid by passing through a strainer or colander 8 (context intransitive English) To percolate; to be filtered. 9 To make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent effort; to force; to constrain. 10 To urge with importunity; to press.

Related phrases:
WordNet
strain

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

  2. 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]

  3. a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; "she was humming an air from Beethoven" [syn: tune, melody, air, melodic line, line, melodic phrase]

  4. (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: mental strain, nervous strain]

  5. 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, stock]

  6. (biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups; "a new strain of microorganisms" [syn: form, variant, var.]

  7. a lineage or race of people [syn: breed]

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

  9. pervading note of an utterance; "I could follow the general tenor of his argument" [syn: tenor]

  10. an effortful attempt to attain a goal [syn: striving, nisus, pains]

  11. an intense or violent exertion [syn: straining]

  12. the act of singing; "with a shout and a song they marched up to the gates" [syn: song]

  13. v. to exert much effort or energy; "straining our ears to hear" [syn: strive, reach]

  14. test the limits of; "You are trying my patience!" [syn: try, stress]

  15. 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: extend]

  16. separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements; "sift the flour" [syn: sift, sieve]

  17. make tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious; [syn: tense, tense up] [ant: relax, relax]

  18. stretch or force to the limit; "strain the rope" [syn: tense]

  19. remove by passing through a filter; "filter out the impurities" [syn: filter, filtrate, separate out, filter out]

  20. rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender; "puree the vegetables for the baby" [syn: puree]

  21. alter the shape of (something) by stress; "His body was deformed by leprosy" [syn: deform, distort]

Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Strain (biology)

In biology, a strain is a low-level taxonomic rank used in three related ways, usually at the infraspecific level (within a species).

Strain (injury)

This is about an injury of a muscle. For a novel, see The Strain. For other uses, see Strain (disambiguation). A strain is an injury to a muscle in which the muscle fibers tear as a result of overstretching. A strain is also colloquially known as a pulled muscle or torn muscle. The equivalent injury to a ligament is a sprain.

Strain (manga)

is manga series written by Yoshiyuki Okamura and illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami, published Shogakukan's Big Comic Superior from 1996 to 1998.

Strain (album)

Strain is the third studio album by American industrial group, Flesh Field, which was released on November 8, 2004 on Metropolis Records. This is not only Flesh Field's debut album on Metropolis Records, but this is also their first album that features the vocals of Wendy Yanko after the departure of Rian Miller.

Strain (music)

A strain is a series of musical phrases that create a distinct melody of a piece. A strain is often referred to as a "section" of a musical piece. Often, a strain is repeated for the sake of instilling the melody clearly. This is so in ragtime and marches.

The Oxford English Dictionary lists this use of "strain" (n.2, III, 12) as part of the same noun more often used to denote an extreme of effort or pressure. OED derives it from the verb, which could once be used to mean "sing," and speculates that this usage derives from one in which the word denotes increasing the tension of a string on a musical instrument.

Category:Formal sections in music analysis

Strain (chemistry)

In chemistry, a molecule experiences strain when its chemical structure undergoes some stress which raises its internal energy in comparison to a strain-free reference compound. The internal energy of a molecule consists of all the energy stored within it. A strained molecule has an additional amount of internal energy which an unstrained molecule does not. This extra internal energy, or strain energy, can be likened to a compressed spring. Much like a compressed spring must be held in place to prevent release of its potential energy, a molecule can be held in an energetically unfavorable conformation by the bonds within that molecule. Without the bonds holding the conformation in place, the strain energy would be released.

Strain

Strain or straining may refer to:

  • Deformation (mechanics), a geometrical measure of deformation representing the relative displacement between particles in a material body
  • Filtration, separating solids from fluids (liquids or gases) by interposing a medium through which only the fluid can pass
  • Percolation, the movement and filtering of fluids through porous materials
  • Strain (biology), variants of plants, viruses or bacteria; or an inbred animal used for experimental purposes
  • Strain (chemistry), a chemical stress of a molecule
  • Strain (injury), an injury to a muscle (tear in tendon) in which the muscle fibers tear as a result of over-stretching
  • Strain (surname)
  • Strain, Arkansas, a community in the southern US
  • Stress (psychological)
Strain (surname)

Strain is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

  • Christina Strain (born 1981), comic book artist (colorist)
  • Isaac Strain (1821-1857), American/Canadian explorer
  • Julie Strain (born 1962), American actress and model and musician
  • Michael G. Strain (born 1958), Commissioner of Agriculture & Forestry in the U.S. state of Louisiana
  • Rob Strain, NASA Goddard Center director
  • Ted Strain (1917-1999), Former professional basketball player
  • Dana Plato, (1964–1999), born Dana Michelle Strain, was an American actress best known for her role in the television series, Diff’rent Strokes
  • Rev. John Strain, (c. 1733 – 1774), 1757 graduate of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), was known as one of the most eloquent Presbyterian ministers of colonial Pennsylvania.
  • John Paul Strain (born 1955), Nashville-born illustrator and artist known for the vivid realism of his paintings of Civil War scenes
  • Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson (1890–1968), born Malcolm Strain in Greeneville, Tennessee, was a military officer and author of military and western-themed stories and novels, as well as founder of National Allied Publications, which eventually merged to become DC Comics. Actress Dana Wheeler-Nicholson (born 1960) is his granddaughter.
  • Drucilla Strain, Ziegfeld Girl actress
  • Joseph Allan Strain, professional baseball player who was an infielder in the Major Leagues from 1979 to 1981 for the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants
  • Walderus de Stratheihan, 12th century Scottish landowner
Related phrases:

Usage examples of "strain".

I segued into the second movement, that sense of bright expectation replaced by the slow, haunting strains of the Adagio, at once lyrical and sad -- mirroring the turns my own life had taken, the shifting harmonies sounding to me like the raised voices of ghosts, of echoes.

They were gradually adapting to living off algae they strained out of seawater.

In the present instance, the whole strain of the argument comes upon the adequacy of the proposed test of truth, viz.

I happen to remember because it was just two year before that a strain of human aftosa developed in a Bolivian lavatory got loose through the medium of a Chinchilla coat fixed an income tax case in Kansas City.

Kelliher set to work, grunting and straining, and Alan wanted to help but could not.

I strained to see across the waters and catch a glimpse of distant Alba, but we were too far, here.

John Vanderson was not and never would be a Kappa, and his wife was hardly the kind to need cutesy notes to remind her of anything whatsoever I doubted alumnae paid dues, although they were likely to be dunned by National on a regular basis right up until the opening strains of the funerary procession.

It was a scene from a vision of Fuseli, and over all the rest reigned that riot of luminous amorphousness, that alien and undimensioned rainbow of cryptic poison from the well--seething, feeling, lapping, reaching, scintillating, straining, and malignly bubbling in its cosmic and unrecognizable chromaticism.

From forwards, a well-muffled observer could make out the jolly boat ahead with the ancipital rowers straining as they pulled the warship out of harbour.

She lifted her chin, raising strained aquamarine eyes to meet a gaze as stormy as the threatening glow inside a volcano about to erupt.

It would be very difficult to obtain a strain of Ebola, but it would be easier to obtain strains of arenaviruses from rodents in their natural habitat.

Of an arthritic little islander, whose French and African blood had strained its way into the Jamaican aristocracy and MI5 by way of Eton and Oxford.

The child, with face ashy white and eyes glistening, her spirit borne aloft by the fervent strains of the litanies, was gazing at the altar, where in imagination she could see the roses multiplying and falling in cascades.

Immense asses strained neon pink and chartreuse capris to the awful bursting point.

His wounded head beat with tremendous and straining painfulness, as though it would burst asunder, and he was possessed by a burning thirst that seemed to consume his very vitals.