stamina

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   The ability to keep doing something tiring for a long time without losing energy or giving up.

   Grammar: Never takes an or a plural: she has a lot of stamina, not a stamina.

   Patterns

   • the stamina to do something
   • stamina for something

   Running a marathon requires great stamina.

   He lacked the stamina to finish a full day of hiking.

   Cycling to work every day has helped her build stamina.

2. 2noununcountable

   The mental strength to keep working on a hard task or endure a difficult situation.

   Grammar: Often used with mental or emotional: it takes stamina to care for a sick relative.

   Patterns

   • the stamina to do something

   Writing a novel takes mental stamina as much as talent.

   Caring for three children alone demanded enormous emotional stamina.

Common combinations

build stamina

You build stamina by increasing your distance slowly.

have great stamina

The old sheepdog still has great stamina.

lack stamina

After the illness, he lacked the stamina for long walks.

physical stamina

Firefighters need excellent physical stamina.

mental stamina

Exam season tests the mental stamina of every student.

Synonyms and how they differ

endurance

Endurance is the wider term for lasting through hardship or pain, while stamina stresses the energy that keeps you going.

staying power

Staying power is more informal and is often used of products, teams or ideas that remain popular, not only of people.

resilience

Resilience is the ability to recover after trouble, whereas stamina is the strength to keep going during it.

vigor

Vigor means lively energy at any moment, while stamina refers to energy that lasts.

Opposites

Commonly confused: stamina or stamen?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “stamina”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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