strain

plural strains

1. archaicRace; lineage, pedigree.

   He is of a noble strain.

   1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]

   1 more example

   […] with animals and plants a cross between different varieties, or between individuals of the same variety but of another strain, gives vigour and fertility to the offspring; […]

   1859 November 24, Charles Darwin, “Natural Selection”, in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 96

2. biologyA particular variety of a microbe, virus, or other organism, usually a taxonomically infraspecific one.

   They say this year's flu virus is a particularly virulent strain.

   1 more example

   European scientists have discovered a new strain of the virus that causes AIDS and linked it to gorillas, creating a mystery about when and how the first patient found to have the strain became infected.

   2009 August 4, Lawrence K. Altman, “New Strain of H.I.V. Is Discovered”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

3. figurativelyHereditary character, quality, tendency, or disposition.

   There is a strain of madness in her family.

   1 more example

   Intemperance and Luſt breed infirmities and diſeaſes, which, being propagated, ſpoil the Strain of a Nation.

   1671, John Tillotson, “Prov[erbs] xiv. 34.”, in Sermons Preach’d upon Several Occasions, London: […] A[nne] M[axwell] for Sa[muel] Gellibrand, […], →OCLC, page 135

   Synonyms: propensity, proneness

4. communicationsAny 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, etc.

   A baby gurgled, a photographer dropped her lens cap, and the strains of the U.S. Army Brass Quintet echoed off the murals depicting seminal moments in American history.

   2024, Christa Case Bryant, As US marks 9/11, a divided Congress unites to honor 13 fallen in Afghanistan, in: The Christian Science Monitor, September 11, 2024

   1 more example

   Yet Keats, though for so many years he has given nothing to the world, is understood to have devoted himself to the composition of an epic poem. Some passages of it have been communicated to the inner circle of his admirers, and impressed them as the loftiest strains that have been audible on earth since Milton’s days.

   1846, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “P.'s Correspondence”, in Mosses from an Old Manse

   Synonyms: theme, motive, manner, style

5. Language that is eloquent, poetic, or otherwise heightened.
6. rareA kind or sort (of person etc.).

   the common strain

   1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Fifth Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC

7. obsoleteTreasure.
8. obsoleteThe blood-vessel in the yolk of an egg.

present singular third person strains · participle present straining · participle past strained · past strained

1. obsoletetransitiveTo hold tightly, to clasp.

   Evander with a close embrace / Strained his departing friend.

   1697, Virgil, “The Eighth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC

   2 more examples

   So hauing said, her twixt her armes twaine / She straightly straynd, and colled tenderly […]

   1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC

   "Farewell!"—the mother strained her child to her heart again, and again put her from her, to embrace her more closely.

   1859, Ferna Vale, Natalie; or, A Gem Among the Sea-Weeds

2. transitiveTo apply a force or forces to by stretching out.

   to strain a rope; to strain the shrouds of a ship

   1 more example

   Relations between the United States and Guatemala traditionally have been close, although at times strained by human rights and civil/military issues.

3. transitiveTo damage by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of force.

   The gale strained the timbers of the ship.

4. transitiveTo act upon, in any way, so as to cause change of form or volume, as when bending a beam.
5. ambitransitiveTo exert or struggle (to do something), especially to stretch (one's senses, faculties etc.) beyond what is normal or comfortable.

   Sitting in back, I strained to hear the speaker.

   4 more examples

   To build his fortune I will strain a little.

   c. 1605–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]

   He sweats, / Strains his young nerves.

   1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]

   They strain their warbling throats / To welcome in the spring.

   1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC

   Thus my plight was evil indeed, for I had nothing now to burn to give me light, and knew that 'twas no use setting to grout till I could see to go about it. Moreover, the darkness was of that black kind that is never found beneath the open sky, no, not even on the darkest night, but lurks in close and covered places and strains the eyes in trying to see into it.

   [1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC

6. transitiveTo stretch beyond its proper limit; to do violence to, in terms of intent or meaning.

   to strain the law in order to convict an accused person

   1 more example

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

   1724, “Drapier's Letters”, in 4, Jonathan Swift

7. transitiveTo separate solid from liquid by passing through a strainer or colander.

   Strain the noodles and rinse with fresh water until it runs clear. The noodles should be soft, but not mushy.

   2017 November 14, Matthew Kenney, PLANTLAB, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN

   1 more example

   Except for the indigo, the dyebaths are steeped over heat to release their pigment and then strained to remove the dyestuff.

   2026, Elise Young, “Yagaa: Reviving Sericulture in Southern Mexico”, in Spin Off, volume L, number 1, page 17

8. intransitiveTo percolate; to be filtered.

   water straining through a sandy soil

9. transitiveTo make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent effort; to force; to constrain.

   The quality of mercy is not strained.

   c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]

   1 more example

   Prince. How does my Father? / Princeſs. Still talks and plays with Fatyma, but his mirth / Is forc'd and ſtrain'd: In his look appears / A wild diſtracted fierceneſs; […]

   1641 (first performance), [John Denham], The Sophy. […], 2nd edition, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for H[enry] Herringman, […], published 1667, →OCLC, Act III, page 42

10. transitiveTo urge with importunity; to press.

    to strain a petition or invitation

11. To make great demands on something.

    a story that strains credulity

    2 more examples

    Taking on more debt would strain our resources to the limit.

    Note, if your lady strain his entertainment.

    c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]

    Synonyms: tax

12. literarytransitiveTo hug somebody; to hold somebody tightly.

plural strains

1. countableuncountableThe act of straining, or the state of being strained.

   Therefore, the goal of this study is to assess the influence of strain on the corrosion resistance of passivated Nitinol and stainless steel implant materials. Materials and Methods Nitinol (50.8%at. Ni) wire (NDC, Fremont, CA) and 316L stainless ...

   2004, Sanjay Shrivastava, Medical Device Materials: Proceedings from the Materials & Processes for Medical Devices Conference 2003, 8-10 September 2003, Anaheim, California, ASM International, →ISBN, page 176

   2 more examples

   Nevertheless, it is clear that the global energy demand for air-conditioning will grow substantially as nations become more affluent,[…]. This trend will put additional strain not only on global energy resources but also on the environmental prospects of a warming planet.

   2013 September-October, Michael Sivak, “Will AC Put a Chill on the Global Energy Supply?”, in American Scientist

   If the Menai Bridge, for instance, were loaded at that rate, the entire strain on the main chains would be about 2000 tons ; while the chains containing 260 square inches of iron would bear, at 9 tons per square inch, 2340 tons, without stretching ...

   1832, Charles Stewart Drewry (A.M.I.C.E.), A memoir on suspension bridges, page 183

2. countableuncountableA violent effort; an excessive and hurtful exertion or tension, as of the muscles.

   he jumped up with a strain

   1 more example

   the strain upon the sailboat's rigging

3. countableuncountableAn injury resulting from violent effort; a sprain.

   They used steroids to build strength but, more importantly, to recover from strains, pulls, dislocations.

   2010, Peter Corris, Torn Apart, Allen and Unwin, page 162

   1 more example

   Dirk Kuyt sandwiched a goal in between Carroll's double as City endured a night of total misery, with captain Carlos Tevez limping off early on with a hamstring strain that puts a serious question mark over his participation in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United at Wembley.

   2011 April 11, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 3-0 Man City”, in BBC Sport

4. uncountableengineeringA dimensionless measure of object deformation either referring to engineering strain or true strain.

   Detailed records are kept of the strains imposed on the bridge by the violent gales that frequently sweep the firth, and a self-recording wind gauge is fixed on the top of the tower.

   1950 March, H. A. Vallance, “On Foot Across the Forth Bridge”, in Railway Magazine, page 149

5. countableobsoleteuncountableThe track of a deer.

   When they have shot a Deere by land, they follow him like bloud-hounds by the bloud, and straine, and oftentimes so take them.

   1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, Kupperman, published 1988, page 145

present singular third person strains · participle present straining · participle past strained · past strained

1. obsoleteTo beget, generate (of light), engender, copulate (both of animals and humans), lie with, be born, come into the world.

   A man straineth, liveth, then dieth.

   2 more examples

   Man, look at that cat straining that kitty.

   Sir, as I have a soul, ſhe is an Angell; / Our King has all the Indies in his Armes, / And more, and richer, when he ſtraines that Lady, / I cannot blame his Conſcience.

   1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], page 224, column 2

plural Strains

1. A surname.