under (a/the) strain

phrase

: having to do too much, dealing with a difficult problem, etc.

She has been under (a lot of) strain lately.

He is holding up under the strain.

He cracked/collapsed/buckled under the strain.

Examples of under (a/the) strain in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At a moment when energy markets are already under strain, BP has chosen to provoke a labor showdown at one of the country’s most important refineries. — Peter Navarro, Chicago Tribune, 24 Mar. 2026

The 1973 oil embargo, triggered after the Yom Kippur War, pushed the US economy into recession and helped squeeze studio budgets that were already under strain. — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 19 Mar. 2026

American employers unexpectedly cut 92,000 jobs last month, a sign that the labor market remains under strain. — Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026

What emerges is not a consolidated bloc with China at the center, but a network under strain. — John Calabrese, The Conversation, 6 Mar. 2026