strengthen

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   gain strength

   After taking the magical serum, my body strengthened.

2. 2
   verb

   make strong or stronger

   This exercise will strengthen your upper body

3. 3
   verb

   To make strong or stronger; to add strength to; to increase the strength of; to fortify.

   strengthen a muscle

4. 4
   verb

   To empower; to give moral strength to; to encourage; to enhearten.

   Charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him.

5. 5
   verb

   To reinforce, to add to, to support (someone or something)

   strengthen an army

6. 6
   verb

   To substantiate; to corroborate (a belief, argument, etc.)

   strengthen the cause

7. 7
   verb

   To grow strong or stronger.

   my affection seems so superfluous that I often wonder why it should be so strong. But wise or foolish, there it is, strengthening with the years whether I will or no

8. 8
   verb

   give a healthy elasticity to

Etymology

From rare Middle English strengthenen (14th c.), from earlier strengthen (12th c.), where -en is the infinitive ending. Probably the original form was reinterpreted as strength + -en around the time when the infinitive ending was being apocopated in late Middle English.