Used in a Sentence

strain

How to use strain in a sentence. Example sentences and definitions for strain.

Editorial note

We ignore whats obvious, that most of this straining is farce.

Examples16
Definitions20
Parts of speech2

Quick take

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

Meaning at a glance

The clearest senses and uses of strain gathered in one view.

noun

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

noun

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

noun

a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; "she was humming an air from Beethoven"

Definitions

Core meanings and parts of speech for strain.

noun

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

noun

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

noun

a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; "she was humming an air from Beethoven"

noun

(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"

noun

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"

noun

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

noun

injury to a muscle (often caused by overuse); results in swelling and pain

noun

the general meaning or substance of an utterance; "although I disagreed with him I could follow the tenor of his argument"

noun

an intense or violent exertion

noun

the act of singing; "with a shout and a song they marched up to the gates"

verb

to exert much effort or energy; "straining our ears to hear"

verb

test the limits of; "You are trying my patience!"

verb

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"

verb

separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements; "sift the flour"

verb

cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious; "he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up"

verb

become stretched or tense or taut; "the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed;" "the rope strained when the weight was attached"

verb

remove by passing through a filter; "filter out the impurities"

verb

rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender; "puree the vegetables for the baby"

verb

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

Example sentences

1

We ignore whats obvious, that most of this straining is farce.

2

This strain, H1N1, then became the predominant form of the "seasonal flu".

3

There is a terrible strain of nihilism alive in the world.

4

They skimp on strain relief for esthetic rather than financial reasons.

5

A sale results in windfall revenue, but a non-sale can severely strain cash-flows.

6

More importantly, though, the strain mutated and became better adjusted to human hosts.

7

People who might be generations down the line from you infected with a super-resistant strain that can be traced back to you and others like you.

8

Apart from strain on the eyes, that's really annoying for wide outdoor shots, where things should effectively be at infinity.

9

I think it's particularly interesting to watch some internet event go "mainstream" and watch even large services like reddit strain under the load.

10

Deviations from each of these create strain on the relationships among teammates and require changes in the work or processes of collaboration to succeed.

11

Mmm. I inherited a rather hardcore strain of liking entirely deterministic builds from being a Debian Developer and would never give up the dependability of it now.

12

You can't measure individual productivity well within large organizations, and even if you could, it would strain the fabric of the organization to reward people that way.

13

Note the wayup close and personal" profiles of professional athletes strain so hard to find evidence of a rounded human life outside interests and activities, values beyond the sport.

14

It's the yanking on the cable that is causing the problem in the image, you can tell because the wire sleeve is pulled back from the connecter rather than split horizontally, which is what would happen if it was a strain relief issue.

15

For example, she found a puzzle game on her phone that she would play obsessively* -- forgetting to eat, sleep, show up for work, having basic human interaction and even requiring physical therapy at one point for the muscle strain of sitting in the position to play the game for hours on end. Crippling physical pain wasn't even enough to get her to stop -- it was what was providing her "fix".

16

Even if you're experienced in the gym, you have to be careful about overuse injuries when you start using creatine, because the sudden ability to work harder, longer, allows you to put more strain on your connective tissue than you're used to.- The section on safety includes nothing about safety, except, in the last sentence, a weak suggestion that a single session with a personal trainer might be helpful.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.

How do you use strain in a sentence?

We ignore whats obvious, that most of this straining is farce.

What does strain mean?

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

What part of speech is strain?

strain is commonly used as noun, verb.