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say it: strayn
strain is a noun and verb meaning "(physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces". It is pronounced /ˈstɹeɪn/ — strayn. It carries 20 recorded senses.
(physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces
physics
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”
(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”
psychology
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”
(biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups
“a new strain of microorganisms”
biology
injury to a muscle (often caused by overuse); results in swelling and pain
the act of singing
“with a shout and a song they marched up to the gates”
to exert much effort or energy
“straining our ears to hear”
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”
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for strain come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.