- strain
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 severe demand on strength, resources, etc.ADJECTIVE▪ considerable, enormous, great, heavy, real, severe, terrible, tremendous▪
It's a real strain having to get up so early!
▪ slight▪ increasing▪ constant▪ excessive, intolerable (esp. BrE), unbearable, undue▪ emotional, financial, mental, nervous, physical, psychological▪The mental strain of sharing an office with Alison was starting to show.
VERB + STRAIN▪ be under, come under, feel, suffer, suffer from▪Television newsreaders come under enormous strain.
▪After weeks of overtime, she was starting to feel the strain.
▪ cause, create, impose, place, put▪Increasing demand is placing undue strain on services.
▪ ease, reduce▪ cope with, stand, take▪ increaseSTRAIN + VERB▪ show, take its toll (on sb), tell (on sb) (BrE)▪After weeks of uncertainty, the strain was beginning to take its toll.
PREPOSITION▪ under the strain▪The ice gave way under the strain.
▪He broke down under the strain of having to work twelve hours a day.
▪ strain on▪Losing the business put a strain on their relationship.
PHRASES▪ a bit of a strain▪I found it a bit of a strain making conversation with her.
▪ signs of strain▪After three years, their marriage was beginning to show signs of strain.
▪ stresses and strains▪the stresses and strains of a long day
▪ take the strain off sb, take the strain out of sth▪The Internet takes the strain out of shopping.
2 injuryADJECTIVE▪ bad▪ slight▪ back, eye (esp. BrE), muscle, thigh, etc.VERB + STRAIN▪ be suffering from, have▪ get▪You'll get eye strain if you don't put the light on.
▪ recover from, shake off (BrE)▪Gerrard will play if he can shake off a slight thigh strain.
3 type of virus or bacteriaADJECTIVE▪ new▪ mutant▪ virulent▪ antibiotic-resistant, drug-resistant, resistant▪ bacterial, viral▪ flu, influenzaVERB + STRAIN▪ discover, identify▪ analyse/analyze, examine, testPREPOSITION▪ strain of▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}H5N1 is a strain of avian influenza.
verb1 make a great effort to do sthADVERB▪ hard▪You could see he was straining hard to understand.
▪ forward▪I strained forward to get a better view.
VERB + STRAIN▪ have toPREPOSITION▪ against▪The dogs were straining against the sled.
▪ at▪Several men were straining at a rope, trying to move the stalled vehicle.
▪ for▪Their ears strained for any slight sound.
▪ under (often figurative)▪The company is already straining under the weight of a $12 billion debt.
PHRASES▪ strain to hear sth, strain to see sth▪We had to strain to hear what was being said.
2 put a lot of pressure on sthADVERB▪ seriously, severely▪The dispute severely strained relations between the two countries.
PHRASES▪ strain sth to breaking point (BrE), strain sth to the breaking point (AmE)▪Our public health laboratories are strained to (the) breaking point.
▪ strain sth to its limits, strain sth to the limit
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
