verb

1. To weaken, as a joint, ligament, or muscle, by sudden and excessive exertion, as by wrenching; to overstrain, or stretch injuriously, but without luxation

   “to sprain one's ankle”

noun

1. An act of springing: a leap, a jump.

2. The season of the year in temperate regions in which plants spring from the ground and into bloom and dormant animals spring to life, variously reckoned as

   “Spring is the time of the year most species reproduce.”

3. The time of something's growth; the early stages of some process.

Synonyms: impetus, impulse, springtime

verb

1. To burst forth.

2. (of beards) To grow.

3. To cause to burst forth.

verb

1. To hold tightly, to clasp.

2. To apply a force or forces to by stretching out.

   “Relations between the United States and Guatemala traditionally have been close, although at times strained by human rights and civil/military issues.”

3. To damage by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of force.

   “The gale strained the timbers of the ship.”

verb

1. To beget, generate (of light), engender, copulate (both of animals and humans), lie with, be born, come into the world.

   “A man straineth, liveth, then dieth.”