What does strain mean?
Strain denotes pressure or tension placed on a person, body, system, or resource. It commonly describes emotional or mental pressure, as when someone is under considerable strain, and physical effort or injury, especially involving a muscle or the voice. It can also mean the process of filtering a liquid or the filter used for that purpose. As a verb, strain means to exert force, filter, or push something close to or beyond its limits, as in straining a resource or straining a muscle. In biology, a strain is a particular variety or type of an organism, while in music it is a recognizable phrase or passage. The word’s range reflects its long history: it began with the idea of drawing or pulling something tight, developed the sense of filtering solids from liquids, and acquired many metaphorical uses for pressure, effort, and resistance. Although strain can suggest difficulty, it is also a precise neutral term for many kinds of applied force or stress.
Strain is pressure, tension, exertion, or difficulty affecting a person, body, system, or resource. It may also denote a filtering material, a biological type, a lineage, or a musical phrase.
"The demands of the new schedule created a strain on the department."
In general use, “strain” is usually countable when it denotes a particular source of pressure, as in “a strain on the budget.” The musical and biological senses are also standard.
To strain is to exert force on something, filter a liquid, or make a person, resource, or situation work beyond its normal capacity.
"She strained the sauce through a sieve and discarded the solids."
The verb can imply effort or difficulty, but it is also used neutrally for mechanical pulling and ordinary filtering.
The plural is standard, especially when referring to different types of an organism or several sources of pressure.
"Different strains of the virus have emerged."
Strain began as a command to pull tight—and still works hard: filtering liquids, testing limits, and pressing nerves.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does strain come from?
The English word descends from Old French estraindre, from Latin stringere, meaning “to draw tight,” “bind,” or “compress.” Its early meanings developed from the literal actions of pulling, pressing, and filtering, and later came to include physical and emotional pressure. The same Latin root underlies English words such as constrain, constraint, restrict, and strict.
Related word forms
How strain is actually used
The word is neutral to formal in most senses. Its psychological sense can sound clinical in phrases such as “mental strain,” while its mechanical and biological uses are standard in technical contexts. As a noun for a type of organism, “strain” is widely understood outside specialist writing.
Easily confused with strain
To restrain something is to hold it back or keep it under control, whereas to strain something is to exert force on it, filter it, or push it beyond its capacity.