{ "term": "strain", "partOfSpeech": "noun", "ox5000": true, "cefr": "c1", "definitions": [ { "senseNumber": 1, "definition": "pressure on a system or relationship because great demands are being placed on it", "sensetop": "under strainstrain on something", "cefr": "c1", "examples": [ { "text": "The transport service cannot cope with the strain of so many additional passengers." }, { "text": "Their marriage is **under great strain** at the moment.", "contextForm": "under strain" }, { "text": "These repayments are **putting a strain on** our finances.", "contextForm": "strain on something" }, { "text": "There are strains in the relationship between the two countries." }, { "text": "After three years, their marriage was beginning to show signs of strain." }, { "text": "Increasing demand is placing undue strain on services." } ], "collocations": { "adjective": ["considerable", "enormous", "great"], "verb + strain": ["be under", "come under", "feel"], "strain + verb": [ "show", "take its toll (on somebody)", "tell (on somebody)" ], "preposition": ["under the strain", "strain on"], "phrases": [ "a bit of a strain", "signs of strain", "stresses and strains" ] } }, { "senseNumber": 2, "definition": "mental pressure or worry felt by somebody because they have too much to do or manage; something that causes this pressure", "sensetop": "under strain", "cefr": "c1", "examples": [ { "text": "You will learn to cope with the **stresses and strains** of public life." }, { "text": "I found it a strain having to concentrate for so long." }, { "text": "Relax, and let us **take the strain** *(= do things for you)*." }, { "text": "Television newsreaders come under enormous strain.", "contextForm": "under strain" }, { "text": "After weeks of overtime, she was starting to feel the strain." }, { "text": "After weeks of uncertainty, the strain was beginning to take its toll." }, { "text": "He broke down under the strain of having to work twelve hours a day." }, { "text": "I found it a bit of a strain making conversation with her." }, { "text": "It's a real strain having to get up so early!" }, { "text": "The internet takes the strain out of shopping." }, { "text": "The mental strain of sharing an office with Alison was starting to show." }, { "text": "the stresses and strains of a long day" }, { "text": "I found it a strain looking after four children." } ] }, { "senseNumber": 3, "definition": "the pressure that is put on something when a physical force stretches, pushes, or pulls it", "sensetop": "under the strainstrain on something", "cefr": "c1", "examples": [ { "text": "The rope broke under the strain.", "contextForm": "under the strain" }, { "text": "You should try not to place too much strain on muscles and joints.", "contextForm": "strain on something" }, { "text": "The ground here cannot **take the strain** of a large building." }, { "text": "The cable has a 140kg **breaking strain** *(= it will break when it is stretched or pulled by a force greater than this)*." }, { "text": "There's too much strain on the corner of the table." }, { "text": "a fishing line with a 15lb breaking strain" }, { "text": "The ice gave way under the strain." } ], "topics": ["Physics and chemistry"], "collocations": { "adjective": ["considerable", "enormous", "great"], "verb + strain": ["be under", "come under", "feel"], "strain + verb": [ "show", "take its toll (on somebody)", "tell (on somebody)" ], "preposition": ["under the strain", "strain on"], "phrases": [ "a bit of a strain", "signs of strain", "stresses and strains" ] } }, { "senseNumber": 4, "definition": "an injury to a part of your body, such as a muscle, that is caused by using it too much or by twisting it", "cefr": "c1", "examples": [ { "text": "a **calf/groin/leg strain**" }, { "text": "muscle strain" }, { "text": "Sterling will play if he can shake off a slight thigh strain." }, { "text": "You'll get eye strain if you don't put the light on." } ], "topics": ["Health problems"], "collocations": { "adjective": ["bad", "slight", "back"], "verb + strain": ["be suffering from", "have", "get"] } }, { "senseNumber": 5, "definition": "a particular type of plant or animal, or of a disease caused by bacteria, etc.", "examples": [ { "text": "a new strain of mosquitoes resistant to the poison" }, { "text": "This is only one of the many strains of the disease." }, { "text": "H5N1 is a strain of avian influenza." } ], "collocations": { "adjective": ["new", "mutant", "virulent"], "verb + strain": ["discover", "identify", "analyse/​analyze"], "preposition": ["strain of"] } }, { "senseNumber": 6, "definition": "a particular feature of the character of a person or group, or a quality in their manner", "examples": [ { "text": "He had a definite strain of snobbery in him." } ] }, { "senseNumber": 7, "definition": "the sound of music being played or sung", "labels": "(formal)", "cefr": "c2", "examples": [ { "text": "She could hear the strains of Mozart through the window." }, { "text": "He heard the familiar strains of a tango coming from the club." } ], "topics": ["Music"] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "if a system or service creaks under the strain, it cannot deal effectively with all the things it is expected to do or provide", "examples": [] } ], "pronunciations": { "uk": [ { "pronunciation": "/streɪn/", "audio": "st/strain/strain__gb_1.mp3" } ], "us": [ { "pronunciation": "/streɪn/", "audio": "st/strain/strain__us_1.mp3" } ] }, "wordOrigin": "noun senses 1 to 3 and noun sense 6 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. noun senses 4 to 5 Old English strīon ‘acquisition, gain’, of Germanic origin; related to Latin struere ‘to build up’." }