strong

Universal Words 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 / arms * 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 army / 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 [onlybeforenoun] (of a person) holding an opinion or a belief very firmly and seriously: a strong supporter / opponent of the government 9 (of an opinion, a belief or a feeling) very powerful: strong support for / opposition to the government * People have strong feelings about this issue. not easily broken 10 (of objects) not easily broken or damaged; made well: a strong stick / rope / 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 character / personality * She's had a strong will since she was a baby. seealsoHEADSTRONG, 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 5000-strong crowd * The crowd was 5000 strong. healthy 16 (of a person) not easily affected by disease; healthy: Are you feeling stronger now after your rest? 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 / mustard drinks 22 containing a lot of a substance: strong black coffee words 23 (of words or language) very forceful, often causing offence to people: The movie has been edited for strong language (= swearing). grammar 24 [usuallybeforenoun] (of a verb) forming the past tense by changing a vowel, not by adding a regular ending, for example sing, sang phonetics 25 [usuallybeforenoun] used to describe the way some words are pronounced when they have stress. For example, the strong form of and is . seealsoSTRENGTH OPPWEAK strongly 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 (BrE, informal) used to say that you think what sb has said is unfair or too critical be strong on sth 1 to be good at sth: I'm not very strong on dates (= I can't remember the dates of important events). 2 to have a lot of sth: The report was strong on criticism, but short on practical suggestions. be sb's strong suit to be a subject that sb knows a lot about: I'm afraid geography is not my strong suit. come on strong (informal) to make your feelings clear in an aggressive way, especially your sexual feelings towards sb going strong (informal) to continue to be healthy, active or successful: My grandmother is 90 and still going strong. have a strong stomach to be able to see or do unpleasant things without feeling sick or upset moreatCARDn.