- 1(of people, animals, etc.) having a lot of physical power so that you can lift heavy weights, do hard physical work, etc. strong muscles She wasn't a strong swimmer (= she could not swim well). He's strong enough to lift a car!
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- 2(of a natural or physical force) having great power Stay indoors in the middle of the day, when the sun is strongest. a strong wind/current a strong magnet
- 3having a powerful effect on the body or mind a strong drug having power over people
- 4having a lot of power or influence a strong leader/government
- 5the strong [plural] people who are rich or powerful hard to resist/defeat/attack
- 6very powerful and difficult for people to fight against or defeat a strong team (figurative) The temptation to tell her everything was very strong.
- 7(of an argument, evidence, etc.) difficult to attack or criticize There is strong evidence of a link between exercise and a healthy heart. You have a strong case for getting your job back.
- 8[only before noun] (of a person) holding an opinion or a belief very firmly and seriously synonym firm a strong supporter/opponent of the government
- 9(of an opinion, a belief, or a feeling) very powerful strong support for the government People have strong feelings about this issue. not easily broken
- 10(of objects) not easily broken or damaged; made well a strong chair not easily upset
- 11not easily upset or frightened; not easily influenced by other people You need strong nerves to ride a bike in San Francisco. It's difficult, I know. But be strong! a strong personality She's had a strong will since she was a baby. see headstrong, strong-minded, strong-willed likely to succeed
- 12likely to succeed or happen a strong candidate for the job You're in a strong position to negotiate a deal. There's a strong possibility that we'll lose the game.
- 13good at something The play has a very strong cast. Mathematics was never my strong point (= I was never very good at it). number
- 14great in number There was a strong police presence at the demonstration.
- 15used after numbers to show the size of a group a 5,000-strong crowd The crowd was 5,000 strong. healthy
- 16(of a person) not easily affected by disease; healthy Are you feeling stronger now after your rest? Thesauruswell
- good
- all right
- OK
- fine
- healthy
- strong
- in shape
- well [not usually before noun] (somewhat informal) in good health:Is he well enough to travel? Well is used especially to talk about your own health, to ask someone about their health, or to make a comment on it.
- good [not usually before noun] (somewhat informal) in good health:I don't feel good. She's looking much better these days.
- all right [not before noun] (somewhat informal) not feeling ill; not injured:Are you feeling all right?
- OK [not before noun] (informal) not feeling ill; not injured:She says that she's OK now, and will be back at work tomorrow.
- fine [not before noun] (not used in negative statements) (somewhat informal) completely well:“How are you?” “Fine, thanks.” Fine is used especially to talk about your health, especially when someone asks you how you are. It is also used to talk about someone's health when you are talking to someone else.
- healthy in good health and not likely to become sick:Stay healthy by exercising regularly.
- strong in good health and not suffering from an illness:After a few weeks, she was feeling stronger. Strong is often used to talk about becoming healthy again after an illness.
- in shape in good physical health, especially because you take regular physical exercise:I go swimming every day in order to stay in shape.
- all right/OK/in shape for something
- all right/OK to do something
- to feel/look well/good/all right/OK/fine/healthy/strong
- to keep (somebody) well/healthy/in shape
- perfectly well/all right/OK/fine/healthy
- physically well/healthy/strong
firmly established - 17firmly established; difficult to destroy a strong marriage The college has strong links with local industry.
- 18(of prices, an economy, etc.) having a value that is high or increasing strong share prices The euro is getting stronger against the dollar.
- 19(of a business or an industry) in a safe financial position Their catering business remained strong despite the recession. easy to see/hear/feel/smell
- 20easy to see, hear, feel, or smell; very great or intense a strong smell a strong feeling of nausea a strong voice (= loud) strong colors a face with strong features (= large and noticeable) She spoke with a strong mid-western accent. He was under strong pressure to resign. food
- 21having a lot of flavor strong cheese drinks
- 22containing a lot of a substance strong black coffee
- 23(of words or language) having a lot of force, often causing offense to people The movie has been criticized for strong language (= swearing). grammar
- 24[usually before noun] (of a verb) forming the past tense and past participle by changing a vowel, not by adding a regular ending, for example sing, sang phonetics
- 25[usually before noun] used to describe the way some words are pronounced when they have stress. For example, the strong form of and is/ænd/. opposite weak Thesauruswell
- good
- all right
- OK
- fine
- healthy
- strong
- in shape
- well [not usually before noun] (somewhat informal) in good health:Is he well enough to travel? Well is used especially to talk about your own health, to ask someone about their health, or to make a comment on it.
- good [not usually before noun] (somewhat informal) in good health:I don't feel good. She's looking much better these days.
- all right [not before noun] (somewhat informal) not feeling ill; not injured:Are you feeling all right?
- OK [not before noun] (informal) not feeling ill; not injured:She says that she's OK now, and will be back at work tomorrow.
- fine [not before noun] (not used in negative statements) (somewhat informal) completely well:“How are you?” “Fine, thanks.” Fine is used especially to talk about your health, especially when someone asks you how you are. It is also used to talk about someone's health when you are talking to someone else.
- healthy in good health and not likely to become sick:Stay healthy by exercising regularly.
- strong in good health and not suffering from an illness:After a few weeks, she was feeling stronger. Strong is often used to talk about becoming healthy again after an illness.
- in shape in good physical health, especially because you take regular physical exercise:I go swimming every day in order to stay in shape.
- all right/OK/in shape for something
- all right/OK to do something
- to feel/look well/good/all right/OK/fine/healthy/strong
- to keep (somebody) well/healthy/in shape
- perfectly well/all right/OK/fine/healthy
- physically well/healthy/strong
- 1to be good at something I'm not very strong on dates (= I can't remember the dates of important events).
- 2to have a lot of something The report was strong on criticism, but short on practical suggestions.
adjective jump to other results
NAmE//strɔŋ//
(stronger NAmE//ˈstrɔŋɡər//
, strongest NAmE//ˈstrɔŋɡəst//
)something that gives someone an advantage over other people in a particular situation
to be a subject that someone knows a lot about I'm afraid geography is not my strong suit.
to make your feelings clear in an aggressive way, especially your sexual feelings toward someone
to continue to be healthy, active, or successful My grandmother is 90 and still going strong.
to be able to see or do unpleasant things without feeling sick or upset
something extreme or severe that is used to deal with a bad situation or problem The policy is strong medicine, but it will save us millions.
adverb a strongly built boat a light shining strongly a strongly worded protest He was strongly opposed to the idea. This is an issue I feel strongly about (= I have firm opinions about). The room smelled strongly of polish.See strong in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Check pronunciation: strong