Definition of 'strengthen'
Word forms: strengthens3rd person singular present tense, strengthening present participle, strengthened past tense past participle
1. transitive verb
2. transitive verb
3. transitive verb/intransitive verb
If a currency, economy, or industry strengthens, or if something strengthens it, it increases in value or becomes more successful.
4. transitive verb
If something strengthens you or strengthens your resolve or character, it makes you more confident and determined.
5. transitive verb/intransitive verb
6. transitive verb/intransitive verb
If something strengthens an impression, feeling, or belief, or if it strengthens, it becomes greater or affects more people.
7. transitive verb
If something strengthens your body or a part of your body, it makes it healthier, often in such a way that
you can move or carry heavier things.
8. transitive verb
If something strengthens an object or structure, it makes it able to be treated roughly or able to support
heavy weights, without being damaged or destroyed.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Video: pronunciation of
strengthen
American English pronunciation
British English pronunciation
Word Frequency
strengthen in American English
verb transitive, verb intransitive
to increase in strength; make or become stronger
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
strengthener (ˈstrengthener)
noun
Word Frequency
strengthen in American English
(ˈstreŋkθən, ˈstreŋ-, ˈstren-)
transitive verb
SYNONYMS 1. buttress, reinforce, fortify, support.1.
to make stronger; give strength to
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
strengthener noun
strengtheningly
adverb
Examples of 'strengthen' in a sentence
strengthen
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In other languages
strengthen
British English: strengthen
/ˈstrɛŋθən/ VERB
To strengthen something means to make it stronger.
Cycling strengthens all the muscles of the body.
- American English: strengthen /sˈtrɛŋθən/
- Arabic: يُقَوِي
- Brazilian Portuguese: fortalecer
- Chinese: 加强
- Croatian: ojačati
- Czech: posílit
- Danish: styrke
- Dutch: sterker maken
- European Spanish: fortalecer
- Finnish: vahvistaa tehdä vahvemmaksi
- French: renforcer
- German: stärken
- Greek: ενισχύω
- Italian: rafforzare
- Japanese: 強くする
- Korean: 강화하다
- Norwegian: styrke
- Polish: wzmocnić
- European Portuguese: fortalecer
- Romanian: a întări
- Russian: усиливать(ся)
- Spanish: fortalecer
- Swedish: förstärka
- Thai: ทำให้แข็งแรงขึ้น
- Turkish: güçlendirmek
- Ukrainian: зміцнювати
- Vietnamese: tăng cường
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strengthen
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Definition of strengthen from the Collins English Dictionary
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