Stamina

'stæmɪnə

nounmedium📊CommonGeneral
1 meaning3 idioms/phrases3 questions

Definitions

1

The ability to sustain prolonged physical or mental effort; endurance.

'stæmɪnə

nounpositivemedium
General

The ability to sustain prolonged physical or mental effort.

The long hike tested their stamina.

💡 Simply: Stamina is like having a super-powered battery that keeps you going, even when things are tough. Imagine you're playing a long game. The player with the best stamina can play the longest and win!

👶 For kids: Stamina is like when you can run and play for a really long time without getting tired!

More Examples

2

She built up her stamina by running every day.

3

The team showed incredible stamina despite the challenging conditions.

How It's Used

Sports

"Marathon runners need exceptional stamina."

General

"She showed great stamina throughout the difficult project."

Idioms & expressions

build stamina

To improve one's endurance through exercise or training.

"The athlete worked hard to build his stamina for the upcoming race."

mental stamina

The ability to endure and cope with challenging mental tasks or situations.

"The students needed considerable mental stamina to complete the complex problem set."

physical stamina

The ability to endure and cope with challenging physical tasks or situations.

"The athletes physical stamina allowed them to finish the race."

From Latin *stamen* ('thread of the warp, strength'). The original meaning related to the essential parts of a plant, then was transferred to mean 'strength' or 'endurance'.

The word stamina began to gain popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in the context of physical education and sports.

Memory tip

Think of a plant's stamen: it provides the strength and support. Stamina provides your body and mind's strength and support to keep going.

Word Origin

LanguageLatin
Original meaning

"thread of the warp, strength"

Base: stamina
build staminaphysical staminamental staminaimprove staminatest stamina

Common misspellings

staminaastaminnastamena

Usage

60%Spoken
40%Written