The noun strain has 12 senses (first 7 from tagged texts)
1. (5) strain -- ((physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces)
2. (3) stress, strain -- (difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension; "she endured the stresses and strains of life"; "he presided over the economy during the period of the greatest stress and danger"- R.J.Samuelson)
3. (3) tune, melody, air, strain, melodic line, line, melodic phrase -- (a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; "she was humming an air from Beethoven")
4. (2) strain, mental strain, nervous strain -- ((psychology) nervousness resulting from mental stress; "his responsibilities were a constant strain"; "the mental strain of staying alert hour after hour was too much for him")
5. (2) breed, strain, stock -- (a special variety of domesticated animals within a species; "he experimented on a particular breed of white rats"; "he created a new strain of sheep")
6. (1) form, variant, strain, var. -- ((biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups; "a new strain of microorganisms")
7. (1) breed, strain -- (a lineage or race of people)
8. strain -- (injury to a muscle (often caused by overuse); results in swelling and pain)
9. tenor, strain -- (the general meaning or substance of an utterance; "although I disagreed with him I could follow the tenor of his argument")
10. striving, nisus, pains, strain -- (an effortful attempt to attain a goal)
11. strain, straining -- (an intense or violent exertion)
12. song, strain -- (the act of singing; "with a shout and a song they marched up to the gates")
Overview of verb strain
The verb strain has 9 senses (first 5 from tagged texts)
1. (6) strive, reach, strain -- (to exert much effort or energy; "straining our ears to hear")
2. (3) try, strain, stress -- (test the limits of; "You are trying my patience!")
3. (3) strain, extend -- (use to the utmost; exert vigorously or to full capacity; "He really extended himself when he climbed Kilimanjaro"; "Don't strain your mind too much")
4. (1) sift, sieve, strain -- (separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements; "sift the flour")
5. (1) tense, strain, tense up -- (cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious; "he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up")
6. strain, tense -- (become stretched or tense or taught; "the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed;" "the rope strained when the weight was attached")
7. filter, filtrate, strain, separate out, filter out -- (remove by passing through a filter; "filter out the impurities")
8. puree, strain -- (rub through a strainer or process in an electric blender; "puree the vegetables for the baby")
9. deform, distort, strain -- (alter the shape of (something) by stress; "His body was deformed by leprosy")