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Glite Dictionary
to strain every nerve

to strain every nerve

1 7.2
Try as hard as possible to do something
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : hacer un esfuerzo máximo
  • She had to strain every nerve to finish her project on time, even with the tight deadline.

Examples

  • He seemed to be straining every nerve to make Sidney McMurdo feel happy.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The coach told the players to strain every nerve to win the championship game.

  • During the marathon, he strained every nerve to keep up with the leading runners.

Synonyms

to strain
vsto strain every nerve
87 4.2

To use a lot of effort to do something difficult

emphasizes making greatest effort rather than physical wear
to try our best
vsto strain every nerve
14 2.1

To make as much effort as you can to reach a goal

is an idiomatic phrase stressing exhaustive effort
to move heaven and earth
vsto strain every nerve
  • Informal
7 4.2

Do everything you can to achieve something important

focuses on maximal effort rather than listing means
to push to the limit
vsto strain every nerve
7 5.1

Make a person or thing work as hard as possible until they cannot keep going

is about trying hardest rather than testing limits
to go to the ends of the earth
vsto strain every nerve
1 5.9

To try very hard and do anything to achieve something

focuses on effort intensity rather than literal distance or travel
to push it to the limit
vsto strain every nerve
  • Informal
1 7.2

Use all your energy and take big risks to test your skill

focuses on wholehearted effort rather than risk or testing
straining
vsto strain every nerve
1 5.0

Needing a lot of effort and making you very tired

highlights active effort to achieve a goal rather than the resulting strain

Antonyms

to give up
∞ 1.2

To stop trying to do something or accept defeat

to slack off
  • Informal
3 3.9

To become less strong or busy

How Hard

to strain every nerve
  • Informal
1 7.2
to try
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

strain every nerve infinitive
strained every nerve past
strained every nerve past participle
straining every nerve present participle
strains every nerve third person singular

Morphology

strain + every + nerve

The components 'strain' (to exert) and 'every' (completely) clearly signal intense effort, so a learner can partly infer that something like 'use all one's effort' is meant. However, 'nerve' here is used metaphorically to mean strength/energy or resources rather than literal nerves, which is a conventionalized metaphor that may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without prior exposure.

Etymology

The phrase strain every nerve comes from an old image: strain meant to pull hard and nerve meant the strong cords in the body, like tendons. So, imagining someone pulling every cord as hard as possible gives the idea 'to make the greatest possible effort'.