What is the meaning of strain?

noun

• Physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces. (
• 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
  • synonyms: stress
• A succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence.
  • usage: "she was humming an air from Beethoven"
  • synonyms: tune, melody, air, melodic line, line, melodic phrase
• Psychology) nervousness resulting from mental stress. (
  • usage: "his responsibilities were a constant strain"; "the mental strain of staying alert hour after hour was too much for him"
  • synonyms: mental strain, nervous strain
• A special variety of domesticated animals within a species.
  • usage: "he experimented on a particular breed of white rats"; "he created a new strain of sheep"
  • synonyms: breed, stock
• Biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups. (
  • usage: "a new strain of microorganisms"
  • synonyms: form, variant, var.
• Injury to a muscle (often caused by overuse); results in swelling and pain.
• The general meaning or substance of an utterance.
  • usage: "although I disagreed with him I could follow the tenor of his argument"
  • synonyms: tenor
• An effortful attempt to attain a goal.
  • synonyms: striving, nisus, pains
• An intense or violent exertion.
  • synonyms: straining
• The act of singing.
  • usage: "with a shout and a song they marched up to the gates"
  • synonyms: song

verb

• To exert much effort or energy.
  • usage: "straining our ears to hear"
  • synonyms: strive, reach
• Test the limits of.
  • usage: "You are trying my patience"
  • synonyms: try, stress
• Use to the utmost; exert vigorously or to full capacity.
  • usage: "He really extended himself when he climbed Kilimanjaro"; "Don't strain your mind too much"
  • synonyms: extend
• Separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements.
  • usage: "sift the flour"
  • synonyms: sift, sieve
• Cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious.
  • usage: "he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up"
  • synonyms: tense, tense up
• Become stretched or tense or taut.
  • usage: "the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed;" "the rope strained when the weight was attached"
  • synonyms: tense
• Remove by passing through a filter.
  • usage: "filter out the impurities"
  • synonyms: filter, filtrate, separate out, filter out
• Rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender.
  • usage: "puree the vegetables for the baby"
  • synonyms: puree
• Alter the shape of (something) by stress.
  • usage: "His body was deformed by leprosy"
  • synonyms: deform, distort