strain every nerve
1strain every nerve — If you strain every nerve, you make a great effort to achieve something …
2strain every nerve (to do something) — strain every ˈnerve/ˈsinew (to do sth) idiom (formal) to try as hard as you can to do sth • He strained every nerve to snatch victory from defeat. Main entry: ↑strainidiom …
3strain every nerve — to try extremely hard to do something. I was straining every nerve to catch what they were saying but they were sitting just a bit too far away from me …
4strain every nerve — I make every possible effort Origin: from the earlier sense of nerve as ‘tendon, sinew’ II see nerve …
5strain every nerve — make every effort possible, give it one s all …
6strain every sinew (to do something) — strain every ˈnerve/ˈsinew (to do sth) idiom (formal) to try as hard as you can to do sth • He strained every nerve to snatch victory from defeat. Main entry: ↑strainidiom …
7strain — strain1 [strān] vt. [ME streinen < OFr estraindre, to strain, wring hard < L stringere, to draw tight: see STRICT] 1. to draw or stretch tight 2. to exert, use, or tax to the utmost [to strain every nerve] 3. to overtax; injure by… …
8nerve — [nʉrv] n. [ME nerfe < OFr nerf < L nervus, sinew, nerve, string < IE base * (s)nēu , to twist, wind > Gr neuron, tendon, nerve, OE sneowan, to hurry] 1. a sinew or tendon: now only in the phr. strain every nerve, to try as hard as… …
9strain — strain1 [streın] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(worry)¦ 2¦(difficulty)¦ 3¦(force)¦ 4¦(injury)¦ 5¦(plant/animal)¦ 6¦(quality)¦ 7¦(way of saying something)¦ 8 strains of something ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [Sense: 1 4; Date: 1500 1600; Origin …
10strain — 1 noun 1 WORRY (C, U) worry caused by having to deal with a problem or work too hard over a long period of time: The trial has been a terrible strain for both of us. | put a strain on sb/sth: Nick s frequent trips were putting a strain on their… …
