Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - strength

(strengths) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. Your strength is the physical energy that you have, which gives you the ability to perform various actions, such as lifting or moving things. She has always been encouraged to swim to build up the strength of her muscles... He threw it forward with all his strength... He leant against the wall, fighting for strength to continue. N-UNCOUNT 2. Someone’s strength in a difficult situation is their confidence or courage. Something gave me the strength to overcome the difficulty... His strength is an inspiration to me in my life... You need strength of mind to stand up for yourself. ? weakness N-UNCOUNT: also a N 3. The strength of an object or material is its ability to be treated roughly, or to carry heavy weights, without being damaged or destroyed. He checked the strength of the cables. ...the properties of a material, such as strength or electrical conductivity. N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl 4. The strength of a person, organization, or country is the power or influence that they have. America values its economic leadership, and the political and military strength that goes with it... The Alliance in its first show of strength drew a hundred thousand-strong crowd to a rally... They have their own independence movement which is gathering strength. N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl 5. If you refer to the strength of a feeling, opinion, or belief, you are talking about how deeply it is felt or believed by people, or how much they are influenced by it. He was surprised at the strength of his own feeling... What makes a mayor successful in Los Angeles is the strength of his public support. = intensity, depth N-UNCOUNT 6. Someone’s strengths are the qualities and abilities that they have which are an advantage to them, or which make them successful. Take into account your own strengths and weaknesses... Tact was never Mr Moore’s strength... Organisation is the strength of any good army... ? weakness N-VAR 7. If you refer to the strength of a currency, economy, or industry, you mean that its value or success is steady or increasing. ...the long-term competitive strength of the American economy... The drop was caused partly by the pound’s strength against the dollar. ? weakness N-UNCOUNT 8. The strength of a group of people is the total number of people in it. ...elite forces, comprising about one-tenth of the strength of the army. N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl 9. The strength of a wind, current, or other force is its power or speed. A tropical storm is gaining strength in the eastern Atlantic. N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl 10. The strength of a drink, chemical, or drug is the amount of the particular substance in it that gives it its particular effect. Each capsule contains between 30 and 100 pellets of morphine sulphate according to the strength of dose required... N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl 11. You can talk about the strength of a flavour, smell, colour, sound, or light to describe how intense or easily noticed it is. The wine has lots of strength of flavour. N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl 12. If a person or organization goes from strength to strength, they become more and more successful or confident. A decade later, the company has gone from strength to strength. PHRASE: V inflects 13. If a team or army is at full strength, all the members that it needs or usually has are present. He needed more time to bring US forces there up to full strength. ...a full-strength team. PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR, PHR n 14. If a group turns out in strength, they arrive in large numbers. Mr Gore called on voters and party workers to turn out in strength... Security forces have been out in strength. PHRASE: PHR after v 15. If one thing is done on the strength of another, it is done because of the influence of that other thing. He was elected to power on the strength of his charisma... PHRASE: PHR after v 16. If an army or team is under strength or below strength, it does not have all the members that it needs or usually has. His regiments were considerably under strength... They had been beaten by a below-strength side. PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR, PHR n