Definition of strain verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

strain

verb

/streɪn/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they strain	/streɪn/ /streɪn/
he / she / it strains	/streɪnz/ /streɪnz/
past simple strained	/streɪnd/ /streɪnd/
past participle strained	/streɪnd/ /streɪnd/
-ing form straining	/ˈstreɪnɪŋ/ /ˈstreɪnɪŋ/

Idioms

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injure

[transitive] strain something/yourself to injure yourself or part of your body by making it work too hard

to strain a muscle
You’ll strain your back carrying those heavy suitcases.

Synonyms injureinjurewound ▪ hurt ▪ bruise ▪ sprain ▪ pull ▪ strainThese words all mean to harm yourself or somebody else physically, especially in an accident.injure to harm yourself or somebody else physically, especially in an accident:

He injured his knee playing hockey.
Three people were injured in the crash.

wound [often passive] (rather formal) to injure part of the body, especially by making a hole in the skin using a weapon:

50 people were seriously wounded in the attack.

Wound is often used to talk about people being hurt in war or in other attacks that affect a lot of people.hurt to cause physical pain to somebody/yourself; to injure somebody/yourself:

Did you hurt yourself?

injure or hurt?You can hurt or injure a part of the body in an accident. Hurt emphasizes the physical pain caused; injure emphasizes that the part of the body has been damaged in some way.bruise to make a blue, brown or purple mark (= a bruise) appear on the skin after somebody has fallen or been hit; to develop a bruisesprain to injure part of your body, especially your ankle, wrist or knee, by suddenly twisting it, causing pain and swellingpull to damage a muscle, etc., by using too much forcestrain to injure yourself or part of your body by making it work too hard:

Don’t strain your eyes by reading in poor light.

Patterns

to injure/hurt/strain yourself
to injure/hurt/sprain/pull/strain a muscle
to injure/hurt/sprain your ankle/foot/knee/wrist/hand
to injure/hurt/strain your back/shoulder/eyes
to injure/hurt your spine/neck
to be badly/severely/slightly injured/wounded/hurt/bruised/sprained

Collocations InjuriesInjuriesBeing injured

have a fall/an injury
receive/suffer/sustain a serious injury/a hairline fracture/(especially British English) whiplash/a gunshot wound
hurt/injure your ankle/back/leg
damage the brain/an ankle ligament/your liver/the optic nerve/the skin
pull/strain/tear a hamstring/ligament/muscle/tendon
sprain/twist your ankle/wrist
break a bone/your collarbone/your leg/three ribs
fracture/crack your skull
break/chip/knock out/lose a tooth
burst/perforate your eardrum
dislocate your finger/hip/jaw/shoulder
bruise/cut/graze your arm/knee/shoulder
burn/scald yourself/your tongue
bang/bump/hit/ (informal) bash your elbow/head/knee (on/against something)

Treating injuries

treat somebody for burns/a head injury/a stab wound
examine/clean/dress/bandage/treat a bullet wound
repair a damaged/torn ligament/tendon/cartilage
amputate/cut off an arm/a finger/a foot/a leg/a limb
put on/ (formal) apply/take off (especially North American English) a Band-Aid™/(British English) a plaster/a bandage
need/require/put in/ (especially British English) have (out)/ (North American English) get (out) stitches
put on/rub on/ (formal) apply cream/ointment/lotion
have/receive/undergo (British English) physiotherapy/(North American English) physical therapy

Extra Examples

Are you sure you can carry all that? Don't strain yourself.
Don't strain your eyes by reading in poor light.
You'll strain your back carrying those heavy suitcases.

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make effort

[transitive, intransitive] to make an effort to do something, using all your mental or physical strength

strain something to do something I strained my ears (= listened very hard) to catch what they were saying.
strain something Necks were strained for a glimpse of the stranger.
strain to do something People were straining to see what was going on.
strain (something) (for something) He burst to the surface, straining for air.
Bend gently to the left without straining.

Extra Examples

I strained forward to get a better view.
Their ears strained for any slight sound.
We had to strain to hear what was being said.
You could see he was straining hard to understand.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

hard
forward

verb + strain

have to

preposition

against
at
for
…

phrases

strain to hear something
strain to see something

See full entry

stretch to limit

[transitive] strain something to try to make something do more than it is able to do

The sudden influx of visitors is straining hotels in the town to the limit.
His constant complaints were straining our patience.
The dispute has strained relations between the two countries (= made them difficult).
Her latest version of events strained their credulity still further.

Extra Examples

Our public health laboratories are strained to (the) breaking point.
The company is already straining under the weight of a $12 billion debt.
The dispute severely strained relations between the two countries.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

seriously
severely

phrases

strain something to breaking point
strain something to the breaking point
strain something to its limits
…

See full entry

push/pull hard

[intransitive] + adv./prep. to push hard against something; to pull hard on something

She strained against the ropes that held her.
The dogs were straining at the leash, eager to get to the park.

Extra Examples

Several men were straining at a rope, trying to move the stalled vehicle.
The dogs were straining against the sled.

separate solid from liquid

[transitive] to pour food, etc. through something with very small holes in it, for example a sieve, in order to separate the solid part from the liquid part

strain something Use a colander to strain the vegetables.
Strain the juice from the cherries into a small saucepan.
strain something off Strain off any excess liquid.

Topics Cooking and eatingc2

Word Originverb Middle English (as a verb): from Old French estreindre, from Latin stringere ‘draw tight’. Current senses of the noun arose in the mid 16th cent.

Idioms

strain at the leash

(informal) to want to do something very much
- Like all youngsters, he's straining at the leash to leave home.

strain every nerve/sinew (to do something)

to try as hard as you can to do something
- He strained every nerve to snatch victory from defeat.

See strain in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee strain in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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Nearby words

sufficiently

adverb

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