strain

strain¹ [streın] n

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1¦(worry)¦

2¦(difficulty)¦

3¦(force)¦

4¦(injury)¦

5¦(plant/animal)¦

6¦(quality)¦

7¦(way of saying something)¦

8 strains of something

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[Sense: 1-4; Date: 1500-1600; Origin: STRAIN²]

[Sense: 5-8; Origin: Old English streon 'gain']

1.) ¦(WORRY)¦ [U and C]

worry that is caused by having to deal with a problem or work too hard over a long period of time

→↑stress

▪ I couldn't look after him any more; the strain was too much for me.

▪ Did you find the job a strain ?

▪ the stresses and strains of police life

strain for

▪ The trial has been a terrible strain for both of us.

strain on

▪ It's quite a strain on me when he's drinking heavily.

put/place a strain on sb

▪ The long working hours put a severe strain on employees.

under (a) strain

▪ I know you've been under a lot of strain lately.

crack/collapse/buckle etc under the strain

(=become unable to deal with a problem or work)

▪ I could see that she was beginning to crack under the strain.

2.) ¦(DIFFICULTY)¦ [U and C]

a difficulty or problem that is caused when a person, relationship, organization, or system has too much to do or too many problems to deal with

strain on

▪ The dry summer has further increased the strain on water resources.

put/place (a) strain on sth

▪ The flu epidemic has put a huge strain on the health service.

strain in

▪ The attack has led to strains in the relationship between the two countries.

under (a) strain

▪ His marriage was under strain.

break/crack/collapse etc under the strain

▪ The party split under the strain.

3.) ¦(FORCE)¦[U]

a situation in which something is being pulled or pushed, or is holding weight, and so might break or become damaged

strain on

▪ The strain on the cables supporting the bridge is enormous.

put/place (a) strain on sth

▪ Some of these exercises put too much strain on the back muscles.

▪ These four posts take the strain of the whole structure.

break/snap/collapse etc under the strain

▪ The rope snapped under the strain.

4.) ¦(INJURY)¦ [U and C]

an injury to a muscle or part of your body that is caused by using it too much

▪ Long hours working at a computer can cause eye strain.

▪ The goalkeeper is still out of action with a knee strain.

5.) ¦(PLANT/ANIMAL)¦

a type of animal, plant, or disease

strain of

▪ different strains of wheat

▪ a new strain of the flu virus

6.) ¦(QUALITY)¦ [singular]

a particular quality which people have, especially one that is passed from parents to children

strain of

▪ There's a strain of madness in his family.

7.) ¦(WAY OF SAYING SOMETHING)¦ [singular] formal

an amount of a feeling that you can see in the way someone speaks, writes, paints etc

▪ a strain of bitterness in Young's later work

8.) strains of sth

literary the sound of music being played

▪ We sipped wine to the strains of Beethoven.

strain ²

strain² v

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1¦(injure)¦

2¦(effort)¦

3¦(liquid)¦

4¦(difficulty)¦

5¦(pull/push)¦

6 strain every nerve

7 be straining at the leash

8 not strain yourself

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[Date: 1300-1400; : Old French; Origin: estraindre, from Latin stringere; STRINGENT]

1.) ¦(INJURE)¦ [T]

to injure a muscle or part of your body by using it too much or making it work too hard

▪ I've strained a muscle in my leg

▪ You'll strain your eyes trying to read in this light.

2.) ¦(EFFORT)¦ [I and T]

to try very hard to do something using all your strength or ability

strain (sth) to do sth

▪ She was straining to keep her head above the water.

strain for

▪ Bill choked and gasped, straining for air.

strain your ears/eyes

(=try very hard to hear or see)

▪ I strained my ears, listening for any sound in the silence of the cave.

3.) ¦(LIQUID)¦ [T]

to separate solid things from a liquid by pouring the mixture through something with very small holes in it

→↑sieve

▪ She strained the pasta.

4.) ¦(DIFFICULTY)¦ [T]

to cause difficulties for something by making too much work or too many problems which it cannot deal with easily

▪ The increased costs will certainly strain our finances.

▪ The incident has strained relations between the two countries.

▪ I felt that my patience was being strained to the limit .

5.) ¦(PULL/PUSH)¦ [I]

to pull hard at something or push hard against something

strain against

▪ Buddy's huge gut strained against the buttons on his shirt.

strain at

▪ a dog straining at its lead

6.) strain every nerve

to try as hard as possible to do something

▪ He was straining every nerve to impress the judges.

7.) be straining at the leash

to be eager to be allowed to do something

▪ There are 30,000 troops in the area, all straining at the leash.

8.) not strain yourself

to not work too hard or do too much physical activity

▪ Don't strain yourself.