strong

American  

[strawng, strong] / strɔŋ, strɒŋ /

adjective

• stronger,
  comparative
• strongest
  superlative

1. having, showing, or able to exert great bodily or muscular power; physically vigorous or robust.

   a strong boy.

   Synonyms:

   stalwart, stout, muscular, hardy, sinewy, brawny, sturdy, mighty

   Antonyms:

   weak

2. accompanied or delivered by great physical, mechanical, etc., power or force.

   a strong handshake;

   With one strong blow the machine stamped out a fender.

3. mentally powerful or vigorous.

   He may be old, but his mind is still strong.

4. especially able, competent, or powerful in a specific field or respect.

   She's very strong in mathematics.

   He's weak at bat, but he's a strong fielder.

   Synonyms:

   efficient, capable, talented

5. of great moral power, firmness, or courage.

   strong under temptation.

   Synonyms:

   brave, valiant

6. powerful in influence, authority, resources, or means of prevailing or succeeding.

   a strong nation.

7. aggressive; willful.

   a strong personality.

   Synonyms:

   intense, bold

8. of great force, effectiveness, potency, or cogency; compelling.

   strong reasons;

   strong arguments.

   Synonyms:

   conclusive, impressive, cogent, persuasive

9. clear and firm; loud.

   He has a strong voice.

10. solid or stable; healthy; thriving.

    The banker predicted a strong economy.

    Synonyms:

    secure, firm, steady

11. well-supplied or rich in something specific.

    a strong hand in trumps.

12. having powerful means to resist attack, assault, or aggression.

    a strong fortress;

    a strong defense.

13. able to resist strain, force, wear, etc..

    strong walls;

    strong cloth.

14. decisively unyielding; firm or uncompromising.

    She has strong views about the United Nations.

    He has a strong sense of duty.

    Synonyms:

    resolute

15. fervent; zealous; thoroughgoing.

    He's a strong Democrat.

    Synonyms:

    vehement, fervid

16. strenuous or energetic; vigorous.

    strong efforts.

17. moving or acting with force or vigor.

    strong winds.

18. distinct or marked; vivid, as impressions, resemblance or contrast.

    He bears a strong resemblance to his grandfather.

    Synonyms:

    clear, unmistakable, striking

19. intense, as light or color.

    Synonyms:

    vivid, brilliant

20. having a large proportion of the effective or essential properties or ingredients; concentrated.

    strong tea.

21. (of a beverage or food) containing much alcohol.

    strong drink;

    The fruitcake was too strong.

22. having a high degree of flavor or odor.

    strong cheese;

    strong perfume.

    Synonyms:

    tart, tangy, hot, piquant, sharp, aromatic, pungent

23. having an unpleasant or offensive flavor or odor, especially in the process of decay.

    strong butter.

    Synonyms:

    rank, smelly

24. of a designated number.

    Marines 20,000 strong.

25. Commerce. characterized by steady or advancing prices.

    The market resumed its strong pace after yesterday's setback.

26. Grammar.

    1. (of Germanic verbs) having vowel change in the root in inflected forms, as the English verbs sing, sang, sung; ride, rode, ridden.

    2. (of Germanic nouns and adjectives) inflected with endings that are generally distinctive of case, number, and gender, as German alter Mann “old man.”

    3. belonging to the morphophonemically less regular of two inflectional subtypes.

27. (of a word or syllable) stressed.

28. Optics. having great magnifying or refractive power.

    a strong microscope.

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adverb

1. strongly.

idioms

1. come on strong, to behave in an aggressive, ardent, or flamboyant manner.

   When you're interviewed for the job, don't come on too strong.

strong British  

/ strɒŋ /

adjective

1. involving or possessing physical or mental strength

2. solid or robust in construction; not easily broken or injured

3. having a resolute will or morally firm and incorruptible character

4. intense in quality; not faint or feeble

   a strong voice

   a strong smell

5. easily defensible; incontestable or formidable

6. concentrated; not weak or diluted

7. 1. (postpositive) containing or having a specified number

      a navy 40 000 strong

   2. ( in combination )

      a 40 000-strong navy

8. having an unpleasantly powerful taste or smell

9. having an extreme or drastic effect

   strong discipline

10. emphatic or immoderate

    strong language

11. convincing, effective, or cogent

12. (of a colour) having a high degree of saturation or purity; being less saturated than a vivid colour but more so than a moderate colour; produced by a concentrated quantity of colouring agent

13. grammar

    1. denoting or belonging to a class of verbs, in certain languages including the Germanic languages, whose conjugation shows vowel gradation, as sing, sang, sung

    2. belonging to any part-of-speech class, in any of various languages, whose inflections follow the less regular of two possible patterns Compare weak

14. (of a wind, current, etc) moving fast

15. (of a syllable) accented or stressed

16. (of an industry, market, currency, securities, etc) firm in price or characterized by firm or increasing prices

17. (of certain acids and bases) producing high concentrations of hydrogen or hydroxide ions in aqueous solution

18. prosperous; well-to-do (esp in the phrase a strong farmer )

19. not to be prone to nausea

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adverb

1. informal in a strong way; effectively

   going strong

2. to make a forceful or exaggerated impression

strong More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing strong

• come on strong

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overstrongness
  noun
• strongness
  noun
• overstrong
  adjective
• self-strong
  adjective
• strongish
  adjective
• superstrong
  adjective
• overstrongly
  adverb
• strongly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• stronger
  comparative
• strongest
  superlative

Etymology

Origin of strong

First recorded before 900; (adjective) Middle English strang, strong, Old English; cognate with Middle Dutch stranc, Old Norse strangr; (adverb) Middle English strange, stronge, Old English; cognate with Old High German strango; akin to string

Explanation

Strong can describe anything with firmness or power. You could have a strong will and resist the distractions of the internet while writing a paper all day, or your paper could have a strong argument, convincing your reader of your wisdom. Even if you spend hours every day lifting weights, if you don’t eat enough food and drink enough water, you won’t be strong enough to do anything with all that muscle power. If you ran a national bank, you would try to make your currency stronger than that of other countries. Or you might be a woodworker who builds a chair strong enough to hold a three-hundred pound man.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

strong stronger strongest

Dalazen, from Sao Paulo, was on a shark-diving trip on the Brazilian coast in April when she suddenly felt "strong pressure" on her leg.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

A strong match came up for Oliver: a type of Trichorhinophalangeal syndrome, or TRPS.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Combined with a particularly strong El Niño cycle this year and the effects of climate change, conditions have been ripe this season for warmer-water species to travel north, and vice versa.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Firefighters remain on high alert in Greece, where the risk of fire remains very high in several parts of the country due to strong winds.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

And, with a clefted chin and strong cheekbones—with strawberry hair and his right hand on Mrs. Wyndham’s shoulder—Barry Wyndham.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

“I just print it out this morning and fix it back up and it works completely perfect,” says Roggatz, a drawing inspector for a construction company, adding that the device is now stronger than before.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Blocking the receptor effectively releases that 'brake', allowing fullness signals to have a stronger effect.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026

The case for real ballast is stronger than it has been in 20 years.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

While Arsenal will likely mount a stronger title defence than Leicester, the Gunners' points tally last season was the second-lowest to win the Premier League since Claudio Ranieri's side 10 years ago.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

By the time we reached the rail fence around our fields, my doubts were getting stronger and stronger.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

The strongest quake to hit the South American nation this century devastated the western cities of Cali and Pereira and destroyed nearly 13,000 homes across the coffee-growing region and along the coast.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Yet for KeyBanc Capital Markets these two perceived issues create “an opportunity for investors who appreciate the revenue and EPS implications of doubling capacity into the strongest catalyst the industry has likely ever seen.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

Pras: The Hungary international is the strongest Liverpool option.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Lenovo ended its latest fiscal year in March with $83.1 billion in revenue, after recording its strongest quarterly top-line growth in five years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

And you’ll discover a new element there, which will be the toughest, strongest, most indestructible element ever—just like you!

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

Related Words

• bold
• bright
• high
• hot
• potent
• powerful
• rich
• robust
• sharp