/ strɒŋ; NAmE strɔːŋ/ adjective
( strong·er / -gə(r); NAmE /, strong·est / -gɪst; NAmE /)
HAVING PHYSICAL POWER
1.
( of people, animals, etc. ) having a lot of physical power so that you can lift heavy weights, do hard physical work, etc. :
strong muscles
She wasn't a strong swimmer (= she could not swim well) .
He's strong enough to lift a car!
2.
( of a natural or physical force ) having great power :
Stay indoors in the middle of the day, when the sun is strongest.
a strong wind / current
a strong magnet
3.
having a powerful effect on the body or mind :
a strong drug
HAVING POWER OVER PEOPLE
4.
having a lot of power or influence :
a strong leader / government
5.
the strong [ pl. ] people who are rich or powerful
HARD TO RESIST / DEFEAT / ATTACK
6.
very powerful and difficult for people to fight against or defeat :
a strong team
( figurative )
The temptation to tell her everything was very strong.
7.
( of an argument, evidence, etc. ) difficult to attack or criticize :
There is strong evidence of a link between exercise and a healthy heart.
You have a strong case for getting your job back.
OPINION / BELIEF / FEELING
8.
[ only before noun ] ( of a person ) holding an opinion or a belief very firmly and seriously
SYN firm :
a strong supporter / opponent of the government
9.
( of an opinion, a belief or a feeling ) very powerful :
strong support for the government
People have strong feelings about this issue.
NOT EASILY BROKEN
10.
( of objects ) not easily broken or damaged; made well :
a strong chair
NOT EASILY UPSET
11.
not easily upset or frightened; not easily influenced by other people :
You need strong nerves to ride a bike in London.
It's difficult, I know. But be strong!
a strong personality
—see also headstrong , strong-minded , strong-willed
LIKELY TO SUCCEED
12.
likely to succeed or happen :
a strong candidate for the job
You're in a strong position to negotiate a deal.
There's a strong possibility that we'll lose the game.
GOOD AT STH
13.
good at sth :
The play has a very strong cast.
Mathematics was never my strong point (= I was never very good at it) .
NUMBER
14.
great in number :
There was a strong police presence at the demonstration.
15.
used after numbers to show the size of a group :
a 5 000-strong crowd
The crowd was 5 000 strong.
HEALTHY
16.
( of a person ) not easily affected by disease; healthy :
Are you feeling stronger now after your rest?
➡ note at well
FIRMLY ESTABLISHED
17.
firmly established; difficult to destroy :
a strong marriage
The college has strong links with local industry.
BUSINESS
18.
( of prices, an economy, etc. ) having a value that is high or increasing :
strong share prices
The euro is getting stronger against the dollar.
19.
( of a business or an industry ) in a safe financial position :
Their catering business remained strong despite the recession.
EASY TO SEE / HEAR / FEEL / SMELL
20.
easy to see, hear, feel or smell; very great or intense :
a strong smell
a strong feeling of nausea
a strong voice (= loud)
strong colours
a face with strong features (= large and noticeable)
She spoke with a strong Australian accent.
He was under strong pressure to resign.
FOOD
21.
having a lot of flavour :
strong cheese
DRINKS
22.
containing a lot of a substance :
strong black coffee
WORDS
23.
( of words or language ) having a lot of force, often causing offence to people :
The movie has been criticized for strong language (= swearing) .
GRAMMAR
24.
[ usually before noun ] ( of a verb ) forming the past tense and past participle by changing a vowel, not by adding a regular ending, for example sing , sang
PHONETICS
25.
[ usually before noun ] used to describe the way some words are pronounced when they have stress. For example, the strong form of and is /ænd/ .
—see also strength
OPP weak
► strong·ly adverb :
a strongly-built boat
a light shining strongly
a strongly-worded protest
He was strongly opposed to the idea.
This is an issue I feel strongly about (= I have firm opinions about) .
The room smelt strongly of polish.
•
IDIOMS
- be a bit strong
- be strong on sth
- be sb's strong suit
- come on strong
- going strong
- have a strong stomach
—more at card noun
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch and German streng , also to string .