strain ¹ (strān)

1. To pull, draw, or stretch tight.
2. To stretch or exert one's muscles or nerves to the utmost.
3. To injure or impair by overuse or overexertion; wrench.
4. To filter, trickle, percolate, or ooze.
5. To pass a liquid through a filtering agent such as a strainer.
6. To draw off or remove by filtration.

1. The act of straining.
2. The state of being strained.
3. Extreme or laborious effort.
4. A great or excessive pressure, demand, or stress on one's body, mind, or resources.
5. A wrench, twist, or other physical injury resulting from excessive tension, effort, or use.