- 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! Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, feel, look, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … phrasesbe still going strong See full entry See related entries: Good health, Exercise
- 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 Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, feel, look, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … phrasesbe still going strong See full entry
- 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 Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, feel, look, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … phrasesbe still going strong See full entry
- 5the strong [plural] 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. Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, feel, look, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … phrasesbe still going strong See full entry
- 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 synonym 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. Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, feel, look, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … phrasesbe still going strong See full entry 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 She’s had a strong will since she was a baby. see also headstrong, strong-minded, strong-willed Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, feel, look, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … phrasesbe still going strong See full entry See related entries: Confident 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 something
- 13good at something 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.
- 15used 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? Synonymswellall right OK fine healthy strong fitThese words all describe somebody who is not ill and is in good health.well [not usually before noun] (rather informal) in good health:I’m not feeling very well. Is he well enough to travel? Well is used especially to talk about your own health, to ask somebody about their health or to make a comment on it.all right [not before noun] (rather informal) not feeling ill; not injured:Are you feeling all right?OK [not before noun] (informal) not feeling ill; not injured:She says she’s OK now, and will be back at work tomorrow.all right or ok?These words are slightly less positive than the other words in this group. They are both used in spoken English to talk about not actually being ill or injured, rather than being positively in good health. Both are rather informal but OK is slightly more informal than all right.fine [not before noun] (not used in negative statements) (rather informal) completely well:‘How are you?’ ‘Fine, thanks.’ Fine is used especially to talk about your health, especially when somebody asks you how you are. It is also used to talk about somebody’s health when you are talking to somebody else. Unlike well it is not often used to ask somebody about their health or make a comment on it:Are you keeping fine?healthy in good health and not likely to become ill:Keep healthy by exercising regularly.strong in good health and not suffering from an illness:After a few weeks she was feeling stronger. Strong is often used to talk about becoming healthy again after an illness.fit (especially British English) in good physical health, especially because you take regular physical exercise:I go swimming every day in order to keep fit.Patterns all right/OK/fit for something all right/OK/fit to do something to feel/look well/all right/OK/fine/healthy/strong/fit to keep (somebody) well/healthy/fit perfectly well/all right/OK/fine/healthy/fit physically well/healthy/strong/fit 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. Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, feel, look, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … phrasesbe still going strong See full entry
- 19(of a business or an industry) in a safe financial position Their catering business remained strong despite the recession. Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, feel, look, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … phrasesbe still going strong See full entry 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. Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, feel, look, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … phrasesbe still going strong See full entry food
- 21 having a lot of flavour strong cheese See related entries: Taste of food 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, sung 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/. opposite weak Word OriginOld English, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch and German streng, also to string.Word Familystrong adjectivestrongly adverbstrength nounstrengthen verbExtra examples Don’t try to go back to work before you are physically strong enough. He exerts an extremely strong influence on his classmates. Sales were surprisingly strong in the second half of the year. The box looks strong enough. The business is still going strong. The men’s golf team finished strong on Saturday. The party lacks a strong enough local base. This news helped keep the dollar relatively strong today. We must stand strong in the face of adversity. After a few weeks she was feeling stronger. He felt that the evidence was sufficiently strong to make the claims he did. He’s strong enough to lift a car! It’s difficult, I know, but be strong! She has long been one of the strongest advocates of sanctions. She is the leader of one of the country’s strongest trade unions. She wasn’t a strong swimmer. Stay indoors in the middle of the day, when the sun is strongest. The report recommended a strong role for the governing board in school policy on discipline. There is strong evidence of a link between exercise and a healthy heart. These vitamins are meant to keep you healthy and strong. This traditional Cheddar is a treat for lovers of strong farmhouse cheese. We hope to see you well and strong again soon. What the country needs right now is a strong government. Will this damage his image as a strong leader? You’ll need to use plenty of strong French mustard. a cup of strong black coffeeIdioms
- 1to be good at something I'm not very strong on dates (= I can't remember the dates of important events).
- 2to have a lot of something The report was strong on criticism, but short on practical suggestions.
adjective jump to other results
BrE BrE//strɒŋ//; NAmE NAmE//strɔːŋ//
(stronger BrE BrE//ˈstrɒŋɡə(r)//; NAmE NAmE//ˈstrɔːŋɡər//
, strongest BrE BrE//ˈstrɒŋɡɪst//; NAmE NAmE//ˈstrɔːŋɡɪst//
) Good health, Exercise, Confident, Taste of food(British English, informal) used to say that you think what somebody has said is unfair or too critical
something that gives somebody an advantage over other people in a particular situation
to be a subject that somebody knows a lot about I'm afraid geography is not my strong suit.
(informal) to make your feelings clear in an aggressive way, especially your sexual feelings towards somebody
(informal) to continue to be healthy, active or successful My grandmother is 90 and still going strong.
to be able to see or do unpleasant things without feeling sick or upset
Check pronunciation: strong
