<B>strength, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the quality or condition of being strong; power; force; vigor. <BR> <I>Ex. Because of his strength he could lift heavy weights. The strength of a dog's love for his master is well known. A nation's strength does not lie in material things alone; a rich nation can also be a decaying one (Newsweek).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>mental or moral power. <BR> <I>Ex. strength of memory or of judgment. The queen had great strength of character. He did not have enough strength of mind to refuse.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>power to resist or endure; toughness. <BR> <I>Ex. the strength of a fort, the strength of a rope.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>military force measured in numbers, as of soldiers or warships. <BR> <I>Ex. an army or fleet at full strength.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>power derived from authority, the law, influence, the possession of resources, or the like. <BR> <I>Ex. the strength of public opinion, the strength of a leader.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>power or capacity for producing effects; cogency or potency; weight. <BR> <I>Ex. the strength of words, arguments, or evidence.</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>degree of strength; intensity. <BR> <I>Ex. the strength of a wind, stream, or current of electricity, the strength of a color, sound or light. Take this cough medicine at full strength. Some flavorings lose their strength in cooking.</I> <DD><B> 8. </B>something that makes strong; support. <BR> <I>Ex. God is our refuge and strength (Psalms 46:1).</I> <DD><B> 9. </B>the existence of a firm or rising level of stock or commodity prices on an exchange. <BR> <I>Ex. Strength in the railroads highlighted last week's stock market (Wall Street Journal).</I> <DD><B> 10. </B>energy or vigor of literary or artistic conception or treatment. <BR><I>expr. <B>by main strength,</B> </I>by using full strength. <BR> <I>Ex. It was only by main strength that he was able to raise the cart and save the man trapped beneath its wheels.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>go from strength to strength,</B> </I>to have increasing or continued success. <BR> <I>Ex. She has gone from strength to strength, pushing through two notable reforms (Sunday Times).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>on the strength of,</B> </I>relying or depending on; with the support or help of. <BR> <I>Ex. Father bought the dog on the strength of my promise to take care of it. He read the book on the strength of his teacher's recommendation.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="strengthen">
<B>strengthen, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to make stronger. <BR> <I>Ex. The soldiers strengthened their defenses.</I> (SYN) reinforce, fortify. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to grow stronger. <BR> <I>Ex. Steel prices strengthen as demand continues moving up (Wall Street Journal).</I> noun <B>strengthener.</B> </DL>
<B>strenuosity, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the quality or condition of being strenuous. <DD><B> 2. </B>a strained effect or a straining for effect. </DL>
<A NAME="strenuous">
<B>strenuous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>very active. <BR> <I>Ex. We had a strenuous day moving into our new house. I wish to preach,not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life (Theodore Roosevelt).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>full of energy. <BR> <I>Ex. Beavers are strenuous workers. The gym teacher is a strenuous man.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>requiring much energy. <BR> <I>Ex. Running is strenuous exercise.</I> adv. <B>strenuously.</B> noun <B>strenuousness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="strep">
<B>strep, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) streptococcus. <BR> <I>Ex. Special attention to "strep" infections is necessary to guard children against rheumatic fever (Newsweek).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="strephosymbolia">
<B>strephosymbolia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a reading difficulty in certain children characterized by confusion between similar letters, such as <I>b</I> and <I>d,</I> or <I>n</I> and <I>u.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a visual disorder in which objects appear reversed, as in a mirror. </DL>
<B>strepitoso, </B>adverb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) <DD><I>adv. </I> in a noisy manner; accompanied with much noise. <DD><I>adj. </I> noisy. </DL>
<A NAME="strepitous">
<B>strepitous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> noisy. <BR> <I>Ex. a strepitous movement in a symphony.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="strepogenin">
<B>strepogenin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a peptide found in insulin and other proteins that is essential to the growth of mice and certain microorganisms. </DL>
<A NAME="strepsiceros">
<B>strepsiceros, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any antelope of a group with twisted or spiral horns, including the kudu and the nyala. </DL>
<A NAME="strepsipteran">
<B>strepsipteran, </B>adjective, noun,<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or belonging to an order of tiny insects that are parasitic on bees, wasps, and crickets, and are characterized (in the male) by front wings reduced to twisted filaments and large, fan-shaped hind wings. The females are wingless. <DD><I>noun </I> a strepsipteran insect, such as the stylops. </DL>
<B>strepto-,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (combining form.) <DD><B> 1. </B>twisted or linked; resembling chains. <BR> <I>Ex. Streptococcus = a group of bacteria that occur in chains.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>streptococcus. <BR> <I>Ex. Streptokinase = an enzyme derived from streptococci.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="streptobacillus">
<B>streptobacillus, </B>noun, pl. <B>-cilli.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a bacillus that occurs as part of a chain of bacilli. One kind of streptobacillus causes an infection transmitted by the bite of a rat. </DL>
<A NAME="streptococcal">
<B>streptococcal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having to do with or caused by streptococci. </DL>
<B>streptococcus, </B>noun, pl. <B>-cocci.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a group of spherical bacteria that multiply by dividing in only one direction, usually forming chains; strep. The streptococcus is a Gram-positive bacterium. The various kinds comprise a genus of bacteria. Many serious infections and diseases, such as scarlet fever, erysipelas, and septicemia, are caused by streptococci. </DL>
<A NAME="streptodornase">
<B>streptodornase, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an enzyme produced by certain bacteria, used in combination with, and having effects similar to, streptokinase. </DL>
<A NAME="streptokinase">
<B>streptokinase, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a protein enzyme that loosens or dissolves blood clots, pus, and other waste matter associated with infections. It is derived from streptococcal bacteria. </DL>
<A NAME="streptolysin">
<B>streptolysin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various hemolysins derived from streptococcal bacteria. </DL>
<A NAME="streptomyces">
<B>streptomyces, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ces.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any soil microbe of a group sometimes considered fungi, sometimes bacteria, which is the source of streptomycin and other antibiotics. </DL>
<A NAME="streptomycin">
<B>streptomycin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a powerful antibiotic similar to penicillin, obtained from a kind of streptomyces. It is effective against tuberculosis, typhoid fever, tularemia, and certain other bacterial infections. </DL>
<A NAME="streptonigrin">
<B>streptonigrin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a very toxic, dark brown, crystalline antiboitic produced by a variety of streptomyces, and active against various forms of tumors. </DL>
<A NAME="streptothricin">
<B>streptothricin</B> or <B>streptothrysin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an antibiotic obtained from a soil microorganism. It is similar to streptomycin in its action. </DL>
<A NAME="streptovaricin">
<B>streptovaricin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an antibiotic obtained from a kind of streptomyces, used against tuberculosis. </DL>
<A NAME="stress">
<B>stress, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>great pressure or force; strain. <BR> <I>Ex. the stress of poverty, war, or weather. Under the stress of hunger the man stole some food. Other animals have like tensions ... know the deadly effects of stress (William O. Douglas). My purpose was to teach students how to think under stress (Time).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>great effort. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) emphasis; importance. <BR> <I>Ex. More high schools today lay stress upon science and mathematics.</I> (SYN) significance, weight. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Physics.) <DD><B> a. </B>the internal forces interacting between contiguous parts of a body, caused by the external forces, such as tension or shear, which produce the strain. <DD><B> b. </B>the intensity of these forces, generally measured in pounds per square inch. <DD><B> c. </B>a force or system of forces causing strain. <DD><B> 5a. </B>the greater or lesser force given to certain syllables or words; accent. In <I>hero,</I> the stress is on the first syllable. <DD><B> b. </B>a stressed syllable. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Prosody.) <DD><B> a. </B>the relative loudness or prominence given a syllable or word in a metrical pattern. <DD><B> b. </B>any accented syllable in a foot. <DD><B> 7. </B>(Music) an accent. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to put pressure upon. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) to treat as important; emphasize. <BR> <I>Ex. Stress the important words of the sentence. The English curriculum should stress both composition and reading.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to pronounce with stress. <BR> <I>Ex. "Accept" is stressed on the second syllable.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="stressedskinconstruction">
<B>stressed-skin construction,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a type of aircraft construction, such as monocoque, in which the skin bears all or part of the stresses arising in the aircraft. </DL>
<A NAME="stressful">
<B>stressful, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> full of stress; subject to strain. <BR> <I>Ex. to do one's job under stressful conditions.</I> adv. <B>stressfully.</B> noun <B>stressfulness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="stressless">
<B>stressless, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>not under stress or strain. <BR> <I>Ex. stressless life.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>unstressed. <BR> <I>Ex. Some languages--Hindi, Marathi, and Japanese--may be described as stressless (Simeon Potter).</I> noun <B>stresslessness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="stressor">
<B>stressor, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Psychology.) any stimulus that produces stress or strain. <BR> <I>Ex. Experimental stressors, for obvious reasons, are very mild, the most usual being distracting or painful noises, electric shocks, the stress of examinations (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
