Strain Definition

strān
strained, straining, strains
verb
strained, straining, strains
To draw or stretch tight.
Webster's New World
To exert, use, or tax to the utmost.
To strain every nerve.
Webster's New World
To overtax; injure by overexertion; wrench.
To strain a muscle.
Webster's New World
To change the form or size of, by applying external force.
Webster's New World
To injure or weaken by force, pressure, etc.
The wind strained the roof.
Webster's New World
noun
strains
A straining or being strained.
Webster's New World
The state of being strained.
American Heritage Medicine
Great effort, exertion, or tension.
Webster's New World
Change in form or size, or both, resulting from stress or force.
Webster's New World
An injury to a part of the body as a result of great effort or overexertion.
Muscle strain.
Webster's New World
Antonyms:
idiom
strain at stool
  • To have difficulty defecating.
American Heritage

Other Word Forms of Strain

Noun

Singular:
strain
Plural:
strains

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Strain

  • strain at stool

Origin of Strain

  • Middle English streinen from Old French estreindre estrein- to bind tightly from Latin stringere streig- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Old English strÄ“on, Ä¡estrÄ“on, from Germanic, from Proto-Indo-European *streu (cognate with Latin strues (“heap")).

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English strene from Old English strēon something gained, progeny ster-2 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Old French estreindre (whence French étreindre (“to grip")), from Latin stringere (“to draw tight together, to tie").

    From Wiktionary

Find Similar Words

Find similar words to strain using the buttons below.

Words Starting With

Words Ending With

Unscrambles

strain