Strain - Definition

n 1: (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, strain]
3: 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]
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:
strain, 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, strain,
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, strain, var.]
7: injury to a muscle (often caused by overuse); results in
swelling and pain
8: the general meaning or substance of an utterance; "although I
disagreed with him I could follow the tenor of his argument"
[syn: tenor, strain]
9: an effortful attempt to attain a goal [syn: striving,
nisus, pains, strain]
10: an intense or violent exertion [syn: strain, straining]
11: the act of singing; "with a shout and a song they marched up
to the gates" [syn: song, strain]
v 1: to exert much effort or energy; "straining our ears to
hear" [syn: strive, reach, strain]
2: test the limits of; "You are trying my patience!" [syn:
try, strain, stress]
3: 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]
4: separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device
to separate out coarser elements; "sift the flour" [syn:
sift, sieve, strain]
5: 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]
6: become stretched or tense or taut; "the bodybuilder's neck
muscles tensed;" "the rope strained when the weight was
attached" [syn: strain, tense]
7: remove by passing through a filter; "filter out the
impurities" [syn: filter, filtrate, strain, separate
out, filter out]
8: rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender;
"puree the vegetables for the baby" [syn: puree, strain]
9: alter the shape of (something) by stress; "His body was
deformed by leprosy" [syn: deform, distort, strain]