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 surface excavation for extracting stone or slate; "a British term for `quarry' is `stone pit'"
a trap in the form of a concealed hole
a sizeable hole (usually in the ground); "they dug a pit to bury the body"
a concavity in a surface (especially an anatomical depression)
remove the pits from; "pit plums and cherries"
set into opposition or rivalry; "let them match their best athletes against ours"; "pit a chess player against the Russian champion"; "He plays his two children off against each other"
in constant change; "his opinions are in flux"; "the newness and flux of the computer industry"
a flow or discharge
a state of uncertainty about what should be done (usually following some important event) preceding the establishment of a new direction of action; "the flux following the death of the emperor"
excessive discharge of liquid from a cavity or organ (as in watery diarrhea)
a substance added to molten metals to bond with impurities that can then be readily removed
the rate of flow of energy or particles across a given surface
the number of observations in a given statistical category
the ratio of the number of observations in a statistical category to the total number of observations
the number of occurrences within a given time period; "the frequency of modulation was 40 cycles per second"; "the frequency of his seizures increased as he grew older"