See Also: strain(1)(dictionary)
Strain(health)
re-strain(dictionary)
strain(2)(dictionary)
strain(3)(dictionary)
strain(4)(dictionary)
strain(encyclopedia)
HFR strain(medicine)
eye strain(dictionary)
type strain(medicine)

strain(2) (iou)



strain noun2. LME.
[from STRAIN verb1.]
I.
A utensil or device for straining, a strainer. LME-M17.
II. Constraint, bondage. Also, compulsion. E16-M17.
An injury caused by straining a muscle etc. M16.
W. Trevor Hoovering brings on the strain in her back.
An extension to an extreme degree of a quality, activity, etc.; a stretch. Now rare. L16.
Swift To Break an..Officer only for Blasphemy, was..a very high strain of absolute Power.
b. Chiefly Law. A strained construction or interpretation. L16-M18.
a. A strong muscular effort. Formerly spec., an effort to vomit, a retching. L16.
W. F. Butler Row,..row away...Bend to the strain, men!
b. Extreme or excessive effort; a straining at or after an objective. Formerly also, laboured or affected speech or thought. L17.
J. Morley They move without conscious..strain after virtue.
Force tending to pull things apart, move a thing against resistance, or alter a thing in shape; the condition of a body or a particle subjected to such force or pressure; spec. in techn. use, the proportional deformation produced in a body by the application of stress. Also loosely, load, stress. E17.
J. S. Foster Since the cantilever at this point is neither stretched nor compressed there is no strain in it.
a. In pl. Trials, hardships. Only in E17.
b. Pressure or exigency that makes severe demands on one's strength, endurance, or resources or that puts at risk a feeling, relation, or condition. M19.
E. Johnson Both feared his health would break down under the strain of foreign travel. P. Roazen It caused a permanent strain on their marriage.
c. An expense or financial liability incurred by an insurance office which is not covered by reserves accumulated from the relevant policies. E20.
III.
a. Orig., a passage of the Bible. Later, a passage or extract of a song or poem. M16.
J. Martineau Who, having the strains of David, would pore over Leviticus?
b. A stream or flow of impassioned or uncontrolled language. Now rare or obsolete. M17.
Steele Addresses came..with foolish Strains of Obedience without Reserve.
Music. A definite section of a piece of music. L16.
b. A musical sequence of sounds; a melody, a tune. L16.
Baroness Orczy The dainty strains of the minuet.
Style or manner of expression; a tone or tendency in speech or writing. E17.
J. Bruce Observe the strain and character of that wonderful reply. B. Webb A curious strain of contempt underlying his pleasant banter.
IV.
The track of a deer. E-M17.
Phrases etc.: at full strain, at strain straining, using the utmost effort. take the strain assume a burden, take a responsibility.
Comb.: strain ageing Metallurgy the cold working of iron and steel followed by ageing, either at room temperature or at temperatures up to the recrystallization temperature; the resultant increase in hardness and decrease in ductility; strain energy (a) Mechanics energy stored in an elastic body under loading; (b) Chemistry the excess heat of formation of a cyclic molecule over the value calculated from corresponding bonds in non-cyclic molecules; strain gauge Engineering a device for indicating the strain of a material or structure at the point of attachment; strain-harden verb intrans. undergo strain hardening (freq. as strain-hardened ppl adjective); strain hardening Metallurgy increase in strength and hardness and decrease in ductility of a metal as a result of strain ageing; strainmeter Engineering = strain gauge above; strain rosette Engineering = ROSETTE noun 1(e); strain-slip cleavage Geology a rock structure characterized by parallel, closely-spaced shear planes with microscopic transverse folds between them.
strainful adjective (rare) causing or filled with strain; stressful: M20.