- [countable, uncountable] a strong band of tissue in the body that joins a muscle to a boneTopics Bodyc2
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- [usually plural] (literary) a source of strength or power
- the sinews of economic life
Word OriginOld English sin(e)we ‘tendon’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zeen and German Sehne.
Idioms
See sinew in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarystrain every sinew/nerve (to do something)
- to try as hard as you can to do something
- He strained every sinew to snatch victory from defeat.
Check pronunciation:
sinew