Dictionary definition for: Strain

1. (v) to exert much effort or energy; "straining our ears to hear"

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

3. (v) test the limits of; "You are trying my patience!"

4. (n) 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

5. (v) 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"

6. (n) a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; "she was humming an air from Beethoven"

7. (n) (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"

8. (v) separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements; "sift the flour"

9. (n) 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"

10. (v) make tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious;

11. (n) (biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups; "a new strain of microorganisms"

12. (v) stretch or force to the limit; "strain the rope"

13. (n) a lineage or race of people

14. (v) remove by passing through a filter; "filter out the impurities"

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

16. (v) rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender; "puree the vegetables for the baby"

17. (v) alter the shape of (something) by stress; "His body was deformed by leprosy"

18. (n) pervading note of an utterance; "I could follow the general tenor of his argument"

19. (n) an effortful attempt to attain a goal

20. (n) an intense or violent exertion

21. (n) the act of singing; "with a shout and a song they marched up to the gates"