12 ADJ If a relationship or link is strong , it is close and likely to last for a long time. □ He felt he had a relationship strong enough to talk frankly to Sarah. □ It is fairly easy for executive directors to develop strong ties with investors.
13 ADJ A strong currency, economy, or industry has a high value or is very successful. □ Investment performance was strong across the board last year. □ The local economy is strong and the population is growing.
14 ADJ If something is a strong element or part of something else, it is an important or large part of it. □ We are especially encouraged by the strong representation of women in technology.
15 ADJ You can use strong when you are saying how many people there are in a group. For example, if a group is twenty strong, there are twenty people in it. □ Ukraine indicated that it would establish its own army, 400,000 strong. □ …a 1,000-strong crowd.
16 ADJ A strong drink, chemical, or drug contains a lot of the particular substance which makes it effective. □ Strong coffee or tea late at night may cause sleeplessness.
17 ADJ A strong colour, flavour, smell, sound, or light is intense and easily noticed. □ As she went past there was a gust of strong perfume. □ Munster is among the strongest cheeses in France. ● strong|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ He leaned over her, smelling strongly of sweat.
18 ADJ If someone has a strong accent, they speak in a distinctive way that shows very clearly what country or region they come from. □ 'Good, Mr Ryle,' he said in English with a strong French accent.
19 ADJ You can say that someone has strong features or a strong face if their face has large, distinctive features. □ He had a strong nose and olive-black eyes.
20 PHRASE If someone or something is still going strong , they are still alive, in good condition, or popular after a long time. [INFORMAL ] □ The old machinery was still going strong.
stro ng-arm ADJ [ADJ n] If you refer to someone's behaviour as strong-arm tactics or methods, you disapprove of it because it consists of using threats or force in order to achieve something. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ The money has been recovered without resorting to verbal abuse or strong-arm tactics.
strong|hold /strɒ ŋhoʊld, [AM ] strɔː ŋ-/ (strongholds ) N‑COUNT If you say that a place or region is a stronghold of a particular attitude or belief, you mean that most people there share this attitude or belief. □ The seat was a stronghold of the Labour party.
strong|man /strɒ ŋgmæn, [AM ] strɔː ŋ-/ (strongmen ) N‑COUNT If you refer to a male political leader as a strongman , you mean that he has great power and control over his country, although his methods may sometimes be violent or morally wrong. [JOURNALISM ] □ He was a military strongman who ruled the country after a coup.
stro ng-mi nded ADJ If you describe someone, especially a woman, as strong-minded , you approve of them because they have their own firm attitudes and opinions, and are not easily influenced by other people. [APPROVAL ] □ She is a strong-minded, independent woman.
stro ng-wi lled ADJ Someone who is strong-willed has a lot of determination and always tries to do what they want, even though other people may advise them not to. □ He is a very determined and strong-willed person.
strop|py /strɒ pi/ (stroppier , stroppiest ) ADJ Someone who is stroppy is bad-tempered and gets angry or upset with people. [BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ The gas people haven't called to repair the cooker so I shall have to get stroppy with them.
strove /stroʊ v/ Strove is a past tense of strive .
struck /strʌ k/ Struck is the past tense and past participle of strike .
struc|tur|al /strʌ ktʃərəl/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Structural means relating to or affecting the structure of something. □ The explosion caused little structural damage to the office towers themselves. ● struc|tur|al|ly ADV [ADV adj/-ed] □ When we bought the house, it was structurally sound, but I decided to redecorate throughout.
stru c|tur|al en|gi|nee r (structural engineers ) N‑COUNT A structural engineer is an engineer who works on large structures such as roads, bridges, and large buildings.
struc|tur|al|ism /strʌ ktʃərəl I zəm/ N‑UNCOUNT Structuralism is a method of interpreting and analysing such things as language, literature, and society, which focuses on contrasting ideas or elements of structure and attempts to show how they relate to the whole structure. [TECHNICAL ]
struc|tur|al|ist /strʌ ktʃərəl I st/ (structuralists )
1 N‑COUNT A structuralist is someone whose work is based on structuralism.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Structuralist is used to refer to people and things that are connected with structuralism. □ There are two main structuralist techniques incorporated into critical social research.
struc|ture ◆◆◇ /strʌ ktʃə r / (structures , structuring , structured )
1 N‑VAR The structure of something is the way in which it is made, built, or organized. □ [+ of ] The typical family structure of Freud's patients involved two parents and two children. □ [+ of ] The chemical structure of this particular molecule is very unusual.
2 N‑COUNT A structure is something that consists of parts connected together in an ordered way. □ The feet are highly specialised structures made up of 26 small delicate bones.
3 N‑COUNT A structure is something that has been built. □ About half of those funds has gone to repair public roads, structures and bridges.
4 VERB If you structure something, you arrange it in a careful, organized pattern or system. □ [V n] By structuring the course this way, we produce something companies think is valuable.