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

Noun
an intense or violent exertion

Noun
an effortful attempt to attain a goal

Noun
a lineage or race of people

Noun
pervading note of an utterance; "I could follow the general tenor of his argument"

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

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

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

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
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

Verb
make tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious;

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

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

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

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

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

Verb
stretch or force to the limit; "strain the rope"

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

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n.
Race; stock; generation; descent; family.

n.
Hereditary character, quality, or disposition.

n.
Rank; a sort.

a.
To draw with force; to extend with great effort; to stretch; as, to strain a rope; to strain the shrouds of a ship; to strain the cords of a musical instrument.

a.
To act upon, in any way, so as to cause change of form or volume, as forces on a beam to bend it.

a.
To exert to the utmost; to ply vigorously.

a.
To stretch beyond its proper limit; to do violence to, in the matter of intent or meaning; as, to strain the law in order to convict an accused person.

a.
To injure by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of force; as, the gale strained the timbers of the ship.

a.
To injure in the muscles or joints by causing to make too strong an effort; to harm by overexertion; to sprain; as, to strain a horse by overloading; to strain the wrist; to strain a muscle.

a.
To squeeze; to press closely.

a.
To make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent effort; to force; to constrain.

a.
To urge with importunity; to press; as, to strain a petition or invitation.

a.
To press, or cause to pass, through a strainer, as through a screen, a cloth, or some porous substance; to purify, or separate from extraneous or solid matter, by filtration; to filter; as, to strain milk through cloth.

v. i.
To make violent efforts.

v. i.
To percolate; to be filtered; as, water straining through a sandy soil.

n.
The act of straining, or the state of being strained.

n.
A violent effort; an excessive and hurtful exertion or tension, as of the muscles; as, he lifted the weight with a strain; the strain upon a ship's rigging in a gale; also, the hurt or injury resulting; a sprain.

n.
A change of form or dimensions of a solid or liquid mass, produced by a stress.

n.
A portion of music divided off by a double bar; a complete musical period or sentence; a movement, or any rounded subdivision of a movement.

n.
Any 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, oration, book, etc.; theme; motive; manner; style; also, a course of action or conduct; as, he spoke in a noble strain; there was a strain of woe in his story; a strain of trickery appears in his career.

n.
Turn; tendency; inborn disposition. Cf. 1st Strain.

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Strain

Strain , n. [See Strene.] 1. Race; stock; generation; descent; family.

He is of a noble strain.

With animals and plants a cross between different varieties, or between individuals of the same variety but of another strain, gives vigor and fertility to the offspring.

2. Hereditary character, quality, or disposition.

Intemperance and lust breed diseases, which, propogated, spoil the strain of nation.

3. Rank; a sort. "The common strain." Dryden.

Strain

Strain, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Strained ; p. pr. & vb. n. Straining.] [OF. estraindre, estreindre, F. '82treindre, L. stringere to draw or bind tight; probably akin to Gr. a halter, that which is squeezwd out, a drop, or perhaps to E. strike. Cf. Strangle, Strike, Constrain, District, Strait, a. Stress, Strict, Stringent.] 1. To draw with force; to extend with great effort; to stretch; as, to strain a rope; to strain the shrouds of a ship; to strain the cords of a musical instrument. "To strain his fetters with a stricter care." Dryden. 2. (Mech.) To act upon, in any way, so as to cause change of form or volume, as forces on a beam to bend it. 3. To exert to the utmost; to ply vigorously.

He sweats, Strains his young nerves.

They strain their warbling throats To welcome in the spring.

4. To stretch beyond its proper limit; to do violence to, in the matter of intent or meaning; as, to strain the law in order to convict an accused person.

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

5. To injure by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of force; as, the gale strained the timbers of the ship. 6. To injure in the muscles or joints by causing to make too strong an effort; to harm by overexertion; to sprain; as, to strain a horse by overloading; to strain the wrist; to strain a muscle.

Prudes decayed about may track, Strain their necks with looking back.

7. To squeeze; to press closely.

Evander with a close embrace Strained his departing friend.

8. To make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent effort; to force; to constrain.

He talks and plays with Fatima, but his mirth Is forced and strained.

The quality of mercy is not strained.

9. To urge with importunity; to press; as, to strain a petition or invitation.

Note, if your lady strain his entertainment.

10. To press, or cause to pass, through a strainer, as through a screen, a cloth, or some porous substance; to purify, or separate from extraneous or solid matter, by filtration; to filter; as, to strain milk through cloth. To strain a point, to make a special effort; especially, to do a degree of violence to some principle or to one's own feelings. -- To strain courtesy, to go beyond what courtesy requires; to insist somewhat too much upon the precedence of others; -- often used ironically. Shak.

Strain

Strain , v. i. 1. To make violent efforts. "Straining with too weak a wing." Pope.

To build his fortune I will strain a little.

2. To percolate; to be filtered; as, water straining through a sandy soil.

Strain

Strain, n. 1. The act of straining, or the state of being strained. Specifically: -- (a) A violent effort; an excessive and hurtful exertion or tension, as of the muscles; as, he lifted the weight with a strain the strain upon a ship's rigging in a gale; also, the hurt or injury resulting; a sprain.

Whether any poet of our country since Shakespeare has exerted a greater variety of powers with less strain and less ostentation.

Credit is gained by custom, and seldom recovers a strain.

(b) (Mech. Physics) A change of form or dimensions of a solid or liquid mass, produced by a stress. Rankine. 2. (Mus.) A portion of music divided off by a double bar; a complete musical period or sentence; a movement, or any rounded subdivision of a movement.

Their heavenly harps a lower strain began.

3. Any 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, oration, book, etc.; theme; motive; manner; style; also, a course of action or conduct; as, he spoke in a noble strain; there was a strain of woe in his story; a strain of trickery appears in his career. "A strain of gallantry." Sir W. Scott.

Such take too high a strain at first.

The genius and strain of the book of Proverbs.

It [Pilgrim's Progress] seems a novelty, and yet contains Nothing but sound and honest gospel strains.

4. Turn; tendency; inborn disposition. Cf. 1st Strain.

Because heretics have a strain of madness, he applied her with some corporal chastisements.

Race; stock; generation; descent; family.

To draw with force; to extend with great effort; to stretch; as, to strain a rope; to strain the shrouds of a ship; to strain the cords of a musical instrument.

The act of straining, or the state of being strained.