pressing importance requiring speedy action; "the urgency of his need"
an urgent situation calling for prompt action; "I'll be there, barring any urgencies"; "they departed hurriedly because of some great urgency in their affairs"
the state of being urgent; an earnest and insistent necessity
the action of stretching something tight; "tension holds the belt in the pulleys"
(physics) a stress that produces an elongation of an elastic physical body; "the direction of maximum tension moves asymptotically toward the direction of the shear"
a balance between and interplay of opposing elements or tendencies (especially in art or literature); "there is a tension created between narrative time and movie time"; "there is a tension between these approaches to understanding history"
(psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense; "he suffered from fatigue and emotional tension"; "stress is a vasoconstrictor"
the physical condition of being stretched or strained; "it places great tension on the leg muscles"; "he could feel the tenseness of her body"
a coupling that connects or disconnects driving and driven parts of a driving mechanism; "this year's model has an improved clutch"
a pedal or lever that engages or disengages a rotating shaft and a driving mechanism; "he smoothely released the clutch with one foot and stepped on the gas with the other"
a number of birds hatched at the same time
a tense critical situation; "he is a good man in the clutch"
the sound of something crunching; "he heard the crunch of footsteps on the gravel path"
a critical situation that arises because of a shortage (as a shortage of time or money or resources); "an end-of-the year crunch"; "a financial crunch"
make crunching noises; "his shoes were crunching on the gravel"
chew noisily; "The children crunched the celery sticks"
a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one; "finds himself in a most awkward predicament"; "the woeful plight of homeless people"